


what’s up danger

by midnightmxnwalk



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: 3RACHA, AU, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Angst, Attempt at Humor, Gen, HYUNSUNG, Loosely inspired by the marvel franchise, OT8, Superpowers, University, into the spiderverse, powers, stray kids - Freeform, superhero, superpower
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-03
Updated: 2020-11-06
Packaged: 2020-11-22 22:54:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 20,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20882006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/midnightmxnwalk/pseuds/midnightmxnwalk
Summary: "Uh, I'm your friendly neighbourhood... Jisung." Jisung couldn't seem to find an appropriate name, and apparently spiderman was off the table now. "I just saved a bunch of people!"———a stray kids superpower au loosely based off the into the spiderverse soundtrack, because damn that movie slapped.edited 29/10/20





	1. put it behind you

Changbin was glad to leave the stuffy hospital room. In there, it was white walls and the torture of being forced to listen to his own thoughts. He'd achieved a state of numbness, so that even when he stepped out onto the street, he was impassive to everything around him. He was empty, a blank slate. He hated it.

When he had glanced in the mirror, he saw the tiredness on his face. He saw the darkness in his eyes. He was looking at a stranger, someone he didn't recognise. This was the face of a person who had lost everything. Just when he'd been about to start fresh, it felt like his whole life had turned upside down. Weeks of lying immobile in a hospital bed, when he should have been sitting in lectures, going to parties, becoming part of the universityworld. And now there was no turning back, there was no one to go back to.

He was terrified.

He was due at his first lecture in five minutes, yet here he sat, on the floor of a bathroom cubicle. Alone, afraid, with no one to turn to. The doctor's words echoed in his mind again.

_'You were in a fatal car accident, Mr Seo. I'm sorry to say that your parents didn't make it.'_

He choked back a sob. They'd been with him, driving him to his university, staying with him until he began his new stage of life. And now they were gone, and he couldn't call them each night as he'd promised, he couldn't visit them on weekends, _he was never going to see them again_. What was the point of following his dreams of music if the only people who supported him were gone?

He stared at the tiled floor, watching it blur as tears fell from his eyes. He was letting out shaky breaths, trying to calm himself down. There was nothing he could do now. All he could do was move forward. It was so simple, yet in that moment it was an impossible task, one that he was certain he could never achieve.

The bathroom door burst open, and Changbin held his breath.

"For heaven's sake, Jisung, go back to school." He saw two pairs of shoes appear through the crack underneath the cubicle door.

"Chan, I'm telling you, I _can't_." The voice of a boy, who let out a laugh. "I fucking electrocuted Hwang Hyunjin. He is _literally_ going to murder me. Y'know, he pretends to be this perfect, handsome guy, but he's a fucking psychopath! I'm telling you, there's something up about the look in his eyes-"

"Jisung, I don't have time for this, I'm supposed to be at a lecture."

"Do you want me to die?"

"No, I-" He broke off, clearly noticing Changbin's presence. "We can't talk in here. Come on."

Changbin let out a sigh as the door slammed shut. Somehow that interruption had left him breathing a little easier. Shakily, he got to his feet and walked up to the sinks. His face was red and blotchy, and he desperately splashed it with water.

He had to go to this lecture. This was university, this was his life now, and he couldn't keep moping around forever. At the very least, he had to go to this lecture. Even if he didn't make any notes, or even listen at all. He had to go, and that was that.

The corridors were empty, all students already at their lectures. Changbin looked at the map on his phone, trying to navigate his way to lecture room 16. The echo of his footsteps reverberated around the corridors, too loud compared to its accompanying silence. Room 13, 14, 15...

Changbin hovered in front of the door of room 16. Deciding that he couldn't hesitate any longer, he pushed open the door.

He tried to look as inconspicuous as he could, but quite a few people were staring at the cast on his arm, and probably wondering why they'd never seen him round before. He went to the nearest seat, in one of the middle rows, and put his stuff down as quietly as possible. The professor had barely flinched, still droning on about - he checked the name of the lecture - the history of music.

Changbin tried to listen and make notes. Frequent use of modulation and chromaticism developed in the Romantic era... Why was the professor's voice so loud? It was like he was speaking through a megaphone, it hurt Changbin to listen.

He found himself wishing for coffee. He was so exhausted, he needed something to keep his focus. He heard the professor's voice loud and clear, but any information he said just passed straight through Changbin's brain.

When the lecture was over, Changbin made a mental note of the essay due in two days, and then pretty much bolted out of the classroom. He didn't know how much longer he could have sat through that.

He checked his schedule, and he didn't have another lecture til the afternoon. Maybe it was time to go to his dorm. He'd been very briefly this morning to drop his stuff off, and luckily his roommate hadn't been there. He didn't really want to get close to anyone. He wasn't here to make friends, he was here to pursue a career in music.

He hadn't even walked up the first flight of stairs, when a handful of people blocked his way.

"Excuse me, can I get past?" He tried to sound polite.

"I've never seen you before. What are you doing here?" One of them said.

"Trying to get to my dorm." Changbin stated plainly. "Can I please get past?"

"Hmm, nah. I don't trust you."

"The feeling is mutual." Changbin muttered under his breath.

"I suggest you get out of here."

"Are you fucking kidding-" Bam. A fist collided with his nose. Changbin stumbled backwards, feeling the rush of blood coming out.

He felt more blows and punches, as they pummelled him relentlessly. He couldn't even fight back. His body absorbed the pain, and there was so much pain that it didn't even hurt anymore. He feebly swung a fist at them.

And two of them landed halfway across the corridor.

What the hell? He couldn't possibly have done that, could he? Changbin was _not _that strong. He'd barely even made an effort to hit back. How had it ended up like this?

"What the fuck is wrong with this guy?"

Ten minutes later, he sat in the head of first years' office, forced to see her looking at him disappointedly for a good thirty seconds before she spoke.

"I would have thought that, despite your late arrival, it was evident that this sort of behaviour is not acceptable." Changbin did not respond. "I know that you've been through a lot, but that does not mean that you can take it out on other students."

"Take it out on other students?" Changbin spluttered. "They were the ones that attacked me!"

"You threw two students across the corridor. You can count yourself lucky that they didn't break their backs."

"You seriously think that I did that?" It wasn't possible. He wasn't that strong. "You think that- That I have the strength- One of my arms is broken, for heaven's sake!"

"You seem perfectly capable of using the other one."

"So, let me get this straight," Changbin tried to speak more calmly. "You're going to ignore basic laws of physics, disregard whatever _I_ have to say, and just believe every single word that comes out of their mouths?"

"I've seen the CCTV footage, and it is very clear from that that you intentionally harmed two other students." She let that sink in. Changbin had no response, he was so confused, so outraged. "Now, your punishment is to write at least three pages on anger management coping techniques and how to apply them in real life situations. You are to hand it in to me this time next week."

"Right." Changbin stood up to leave.

"And may I remind you, Changbin, that you are always welcome to go and talk to our counsellor."

"Right." Changbin repeated, through gritted teeth.

He headed back to the dorms, wondering if he would ever get time to just rest. He didn't know what he'd done to make the world have it in for him, and his mood had dropped significantly, as if it had even been good to begin with. He was mostly angry, angry at everyone and the fact that he wasn't allowed to just get on with life.

He entered his dorm room, and thankfully, it was empty. He needed a bit of time to himself, to process everything that had happened. He switched on the lights, and sat at the foot of his bed. He hadn't had time to unpack yet, and cardboard boxes containing his belongings were still piled up in the corner.

He took his phone out of his pocket, and plugged his earbuds in. He needed to calm down, he needed to listen to music. He closed his eyes, letting himself feel the rhythm, hearing the intertwining melodies. Yeah, that was better.

A rush of cold air shook him out of his trance. Why was the window open? He walked over and closed it, hoping that his roommate didn't have bad habits such as this. He just wanted a normal person, who would agree to ignore him, and stay out of his space. No talking unless absolutely necessary.

He put his earbuds back in, and was about to resume his music when the lights started flickering. No. No fucking way. If this place had dodgy electricity, that was it, Changbin was done. He was _not_ putting up with that. He stood up and tapped the light gently, trying to get it to stop flickering.

"Shit." He heard a quiet voice from the bathroom. What the hell? Maybe his roommate was here after all.

He opened the bathroom door, and saw... a kid? He was wearing a high school uniform, and sat in the shower with his legs drawn up to his chest. His eyes widened when he saw Changbin.

"What the hell do you think you're doing in here?" Changbin asked, not in the mood for all this _bullshit_.

"Ah, well, y-you see," The kid stammered as he got to his feet, "That's um, a good question, a-and I will definitely answer it-" The lights properly went out and he stopped talking.

"Do you think it's funny to mess with the lights?" The kid didn't answer. "Hey, I just asked you a question."

"V-very good question." The kid mumbled, before making a dash for the door. Changbin blocked his way, but he managed to squeeze past.

"Oh no you don't." Changbin said, grabbing hold of the neck of his blazer. The kid struggled, kicking and punching blindly. It was only when he managed to land a punch that Changbin got really mad.

At that moment, a boy - his roommate? - entered the room, and took in the scene with a bewildered expression.

"Hi, roomie." Changbin muttered at the exact same time that the kid said "Hey, Chan."

Chan looked between the two of them, frozen in place, and let out a sigh.

"Okay, you two are gonna sit down and calmly explain what happened, one at a time." He said.

"I'm sorry, why is does this kid think its's okay to break in here and mess with the lights?" Changbin said irritatedly. Something flashed across Chan's face, but it disappeared in a second.

"Frankly, I don't know."

"Chan..." The kid whined. Chan rolled his eyes.

"Jisung is my friend. He's allowed in here when I let him in... Which I _didn't_." He looked at Jisung pointedly.

"Okay look, I explained to you earlier that if I go to school I am _going to die._" Jisung said, and Changbin had flashbacks to the conversation he'd heard in the bathroom. That had been them, then.

"And I told you that you'd be expelled if you missed another day of school."

"Who are you, Hermione Granger?" Jisung scoffed. "You think being in school is more important than being alive?"

"I think you're overreacting."

"I think you're not my mum, so you can't tell me what to do."

The scene would have been weirdly endearing if it wasn't for the one word that nearly sent Changbin spiralling. He hadn't thought about it since his breakdown earlier, and he desperately pushed the subject to the back of his mind.

"Are you okay...?" Chan asked. "Sorry, I haven't even asked your name yet."

"It's Changbin. And I'm fine, thanks." He said the last part quite firmly. He didn't need someone poking about his emotions, he didn't need a bloody therapist. The whole concept was utterly repulsive to him.

"I'm Chan." He gave a friendly smile. "I hope that just because we've had an... interesting start, it won't ruin any chance of friendship."

"Yeah." Changbin muttered. He wasn't here to make friends. For some reason he didn't feel like saying that aloud anymore, though.

"Is that a Muse album?" Jisung's attention had turned to one of Changbin's boxes of albums, and he held said album in his hands. "It _is_."

"Yeah?" Changbin responded. "So what?"

"Drones was better than Absolution." Jisung stated bluntly.

"I did have it." Changbin said quietly. "It got broken." Memories of the car spinning invaded his mind.

"Jeez, take better care of your albums."

Changbin made no response, and instead crouched down next to the boxes.

"I'm gonna start unpacking." He muttered.

"Need some help?" Chan sat down beside him.

"Thanks." Changbin said.

"Ah, I'll help too-" Jisung quickly said.

"No." Chan cut him off. "Go to school."

"I hate you."

"Sure you do."

"I mean it!"

"Uhuh."

Changbin watched as the door slammed behind Jisung, and turned back to the boxes in front of him. Clothes, books, and albums were sorted into different boxes. He regretted taking nearly all his albums, because they took up more than half the boxes.

Chan was humming softly as he sifted through a box of albums, before pulling one out.

"Can I put this one on while we work?" He asked.

"Sure." Changbin replied, smiling at the Queen album in Chan's hands. As the sound of piano began echoing throughout the room, Changbin felt himself relax. Today hadn't been an amazing day, but sometimes the sound of good music was enough to make everything better.


	2. is it any wonder?

"God, I'm so hungry." Chan said as he collapsed after they'd emptied their fifth box.

Changbin glanced at his watch. "It's two o'clock, no wonder."

"Wanna grab lunch together? I'll show you the best place on campus."

"Su-"

The door burst open, and Jisung ran straight for the bathroom, locking the door behind him. Chan stared after him with a concerned expression.

"Han Jisung!" A voice echoed from outside in the corridor. Another high school kid ran into their room, his voice almost as prim as his hair. "He's in here, isn't he?"

"I don't think you're allowed on campus, kid." Changbin said, raising his eyebrows.

"He's in the bathroom, isn't he?" The boy walked over and knocked on the door. "Han Jisung! I know you're in there!"

"Why are you looking for someone who isn't here? Take the hint and get out before I make you." Changbin said, and Chan looked at him funnily.

"But-" The kid broke off with a sigh, running his hands through his hair. "But he's in there."

"But he isn't." Changbin mocked.

"I literally saw him run in here!"

"I'm pretty sure you saw wrong."

"Are you saying I have eyesight problems?"

"No, I'm telling you to fuck off, prissy."

"You can't call me that." The boy laughed incredulously.

"I just did."

"Yeah? Well if Han Jisung doesn't open that door right now you're gonna regret it."

"You're Hwang Hyunjin, aren't you?" Chan spoke up for the first time.

"Yep."

"Is that bad?" Changbin whispered to Chan.

"Yep."

"Go fuck yourself, Hwang!" Jisung shouted from inside the bathroom.

"Really, I should be saying that to you." Hyunjin said. "Yesterday, you managed to mess up a circuit so bad that it electrocuted me. Then - Because what? You think it's funny? - You draw dicks all over my car, put maggots in my locker, and have the audacity to boast about it to your friends."

Jisung opened the door a crack. "First of all, Chan is my only friend. Second of all, if you got your head out of your arse, you'd realise that I didn't do either of those things. But go ahead, blame me and get me expelled. It was gonna happen anyway." Jisung's face remained quite calm and his voice sounded resigned.

"If you didn't do it, then why were you talking to Kim about artwork?"

"He wanted to know why my art was so good. I thought he was making fun of me, so I bragged about it to piss him off." Jisung stated plainly.

"Oh."

There was silence for a good awkward minute.

"I-I'm gonna get back to class." Hyunjin quickly walked out, his head hung low.

"You okay, Jisung?" Chan asked, receiving a nod from the younger boy.

"So, uh," Jisung coughed, "Thanks for trying to help me and everything, man." He didn't meet Changbin's eyes as he said this.

"Sure. I mean, he was a pompous twat anyways."

"That's not really the impression that he gave me." Chan said. "I mean, clearly someone is trying to mess with him, and he seemed pretty upset by it."

"That's just what high school is like, though." Changbin replied. "People play stupid pranks on each other."

"Not at Daeseong High, they don't." Jisung muttered.

"Oh damn. That explains why he was so posh, at least. What's a kid like you doing there? No offence."

"Scholarship. For some reason I did well in middle school, but my intelligence basically peaked at the age of 14. Let's just say that they're regretting offering me the scholarship, and I'm on the brink of being expelled."

"Mm..." Changbin wasn't sure of what to say in response. "I went to the state school down the road. We all _hated_ the Daeseong kids."

"Don't worry, we hate ourselves too." Jisung said with a laugh. "God, everywhere you turn it's a spoilt brat with daddy issues. Hyunjin isn't any different. Well, besides the fact he wanted to kill me."

"Jisung, I think you're exaggerating a lot there." Chan said. "He was upset, and looked for someone to blame and that someone happened to be you. Really, you should avoid getting in trouble with him - you'll ruin all chances of going to Gojan Music University."

"You think I want to go to Gojan? Jeez, I'm not a nerd like you guys. I'm gonna be a rapper; I don't need to read _sheet music_." He said 'sheet music' the same way someone would say 'politics' or 'homework'.

"Dream on, kid." Changbin chuckled.

"I'm, like, one year younger than you."

"Still a kid."

"I'm taller than you."

"No, you're not."

"Anyway," Chan interrupted, "I think you ought to get back to class, Jisung."

"Uhuh, go to Physics and have Hyunjin try to kill me if I even look at an electrical circuit? No, thanks, I'll pass."

"Jisung, I'm serious. You'll end up being expelled. Come on, I'll walk you to the gate."

Jisung begrudgingly agreed.

"Mind if I tag along?" Changbin asked. "I was hoping we could still get lunch together - if there's time afterwards."

Chan assured him it was no problem, and they set off. Changbin still couldn't get his head around the complicated mess that was the university campus. They had to go down so many different paths, and changed direction so many times that it felt like they were going in circles. If it wasn't for Chan, he knew he'd be hopelessly lost.

"Hey, dwarf!" Someone shouted from behind them. Changbin had a feeling it was directed towards him, and turned around.

Shit. It was the bastards from before.

"Who're they?" Chan asked as the group of boys walked up to them.

"A bunch of twats. You reckon it's too late to walk away?" Changbin felt nerves building up inside of him.

"We didn't really get to finish our business from before, did we?" One of them said. "I see you've made some friends." He sniggered.

"Here's the thing, jackass: We really couldn't give a shit." Jisung said, stepping forward. "Like genuinely, whatever you're trying to say, whatever your point is, it could not be of any less importance to me."

"Do you think I'm gonna be intimidated by a high school kid?"

"Do you think I'm gonna be intimidated by a man child who can't cope without his mummy?"

The man swung a fist a Jisung's face, and all hell broke loose. It was all Changbin could do to stop his head being bashed in, let alone even fight back. As each fist landed on his skin, he could feel something building up inside of him. His body was absorbing the shock and pain, and somehow numbing everything.

Like before, he tried to fight back. He raised a useless hand, pushing away, not expecting it to do anything.

This time he felt it. The - well, he didn't know what it was, but he could feel it coming from inside of him. Whatever it was, it caused a guy to go flying again.

The bullies stared at him with horror for a few seconds, before running away. Changbin stared at his trembling hand, so confused and bewildered by it. Why had that happened? There was no doubting it, it had come from within him. Some power, some sort of energy.

"Did you do martial arts or something?" Jisung said, walking over to where Changbin stood. There was blood trickling out of his lower lip, and his fists were littered with bruises. "I mean, is there some sort of trick where you barely touch someone and they're thrown ten metres away?"

"I-"

"Did he use his other hand?" Jisung turned to face Chan. "I didn't see him use his other hand."

"Jisung, just leave it." Chan's face was contemplative, as if he was trying to figure something out. "Are you alright?" He asked Changbin.

"Y-yeah." He stammered. "You?"

"I'm fine." There didn't seem to be a single scratch on Chan.

"It's the kangaroo blood in him." Jisung said to Changbin with a serious expression.

"The what?"

"Chan's from Australia. Therefore, he's part kangaroo."

"That makes no sense."

"Ah, but you haven't seen his abs of steel. Kangaroos are really muscly, you know."

Chan let out a sigh. "God, it's like the universe doesn't want you to go to school, Jisung. Come on, stop stalling and just go."

Once they got there, they waited for a minute at the gates to make sure that Jisung really was going to school. Chan repeatedly apologised, but Changbin reassured him that Jisung's behaviour was slightly endearing in a very weird way.

"So, um, still up for a late lunch?" Changbin asked tentatively.

"What you did back there..." Chan began, and Changbin's face fell. "I think I might know why it happened. But, it would help if I knew a bit more about you. Like, for example, why you came here halfway through the term. I'm not wrong in guessing it has something to do with this, am I?" He tapped Changbin's cast.

Changbin sighed. "No. You're not wrong."

He told Chan what had happened from the beginning. The older boy's face was unreadable throughout, but he seemed to be thinking a lot.

"It must be awful..." Chan muttered a few seconds after Changbin had finished. "I don't even know what I would do if I was in your position."

"Yeah, it's pretty shit. I lost everything and I don't even know who took it away from me. The driver got away." Changbin said this half heartedly. Because really, he didn't care who did it. He didn't have any desire for revenge, or justice. He just wanted his parents back, but that couldn't happen.

"Punch me." Chan said.

"What?"

"Punch me, as hard as you can."

"Why would I-"

"Just do it."

Changbin did as he said, his fist meeting rock hard muscle. No strange force having any impact.

"That's interesting..." Chan muttered to himself. "I might be wrong, but I think I've figured it out."

"Yeah?" Changbin said, suddenly curious, wanting answers.

"When the car crashed, your body would have absorbed a lot of shock. A lot of impact. And because you survived that, it must have changed something within you. When those guys beat you up, again, your body absorbed shock. And when you tried to defend yourself, the shock travelled back out, which caused that guy to go flying."

"So because they punched me loads... I had the equivalent of the impact of all those punches in one punch?"

"I think so. That's the only thing that makes sense to me."

"Fucking hell, sounds like the sort of thing you'd see in a superhero comic."

Chan still looked deep in thought. He fiddled with his hands, and bit his lip.

"If I show you something," He said, "Will you promise not to freak out?"

"Sure." Changbin shrugged.

Chan spread his arms out, hands grasping at the air. Everything seemed to grow colder, as the shadow from a nearby tree creeped towards them. It left the floor, turning into black mist, and gathering in Chan's hands. For a few seconds the mist swirled around, before dissipating into the air.

"Dude." Was all Changbin could say afterwards.

"I can manipulate shadows." Chan said. "That's why I jumped so quickly to conclusions about what you did. I think you're like me. You have powers."

Changbin stood there in awe, struggling to comprehend everything that he'd just discovered. Powers. They'd always been a distant, fictional thing. Yet now they'd just been proved a reality.

"Jisung, too." Chan said.

"Really?"

"Yeah. He can manipulate electricity, which is why he electrocuted Hyunjin. He says he lost control."

Changbin let out a groan. "Jeez. Fucking hell. Sorry, this is a lot to take in."

"It's okay." Chan replied. "When I discovered my powers, you can't imagine how much I was freaking out. You're handling it a lot better than me."

"I just..." Changbin sighed. "Things were going to be normal. I was going to start at the beginning of term like everybody else. And then I got into that accident, I lost my parents, and now this... I don't think things will ever be how I wanted anymore."

Chan opened his arms for a hug, which Changbin gladly accepted. They stayed like that for a while, before Chan pulled away.

"So, ready for a three o'clock lunch?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second chapter is up!
> 
> hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, i’m really excited for the next one
> 
> comment and let me know what you think!
> 
> Follow my twitter: @midnightmxnwalk


	3. spiralling

It was a stormy day. Strangely appropriate, as today was the first day of exams. Changbin didn't like of how well that bode for him.

Well, at least he hadn't pulled an all-nighter cramming last night. He glanced over at Chan, who seemed to be fighting with his toothpaste.

"You good there?"

Chan froze. "This isn't the kitchen..." He muttered.

"Nope." Changbin laughed. "Were you gonna eat your toothpaste?"

"_No_, I wanted chocolate sauce on... the pancakes I haven't made. Why am I in the bathroom?"

"You need more sleep. How are you gonna cope with your exams?"

"I'm fine. I'm fine, I just need to go eat something. I'll be fine once I've eaten."

"If you say so."

Changbin pulled out a deck of flashcards, and after staring at the first one for thirty seconds, decided he probably needed to eat too, before trying to do anything at such an ungodly early hour of morning.

Breakfast was a sullen affair, the kitchen full of students lamenting their exams or trying to cram last minute. Changbin didn't really like the out-of-date cereal he was eating, but he ate it anyway. There didn't seem to be anything else.

His first exam was in about twenty minutes, so after a more productive look at his flashcards once more, he made his way to the exam hall.

Two hours of trying to write comparative essays on classical music later, he was out of the first exam. Luckily today he didn't have any more, but he couldn't rid himself of the inherent feeling that he'd fucked it all up.

The storm was getting worse, wind turning umbrellas inside out and the distant rumble of thunder echoing. Changbin pulled his hood up and ran to the nearest building(the library) to shelter for a while.

His phone buzzed with a text from Jisung on the group chat.

_Jisung: did u know the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell_

Changbin rolled his eyes, typing a reply.

_Changbin: You got exams too?_

_Jisung: well, that depends. does it still count if i don't go to them?_

_Changbin: Yes. And on behalf of Chan, I'm telling you to go to them._

_Jisung: but i can't focus. i'm already here anyway._

_Changbin: At the uni?_

_Jisung: lmaoo you have 'find my friends' turned on_

Changbin was about to reply, but was interrupted by a bedraggled Jisung walking into the library, holding his phone in the direction of Changbin.

"Found you." Jisung said with a half hearted smile. It didn't quite reach his eyes.

Changbin sighed. "What's wrong with you today? This is a whole new level of idiocy."

"Says you." Jisung's retort was not nearly as inventive or impactful as it usually was.

"Okay. I'm taking you to Chan, then. Maybe he'll talk some sense into you."

Jisung shrugged. "Okay."

They went out into the downpour once more, heading for the dorm. There was a flash of lightning that made Jisung jump.

Changbin tried not to regret not bringing an umbrella, and instead focused on getting to the dorm as quickly as possible. Across the block, he saw some kind of student tour group, and pitied them for having to endure the rain.

Lightning flashed again. Jisung shivered. "I don't like storms..." He muttered, and then seemed shocked that he'd said that aloud.

"I would've thought you of all people would have liked them." Changbin said.

"No, not when you know that you're capable of accidentally doing this, orsomething worse. Static electricity is a dangerous fucking thing."

"Hey, I'm new to this whole power thing, but I don't think you could ever do something like this by accident. You must have some form of control, right?"

"I..." Jisung hesitated. "This is gonna sound stupid, but I kind of rely on Chan for control. His presence, or just a reminder of him... calms me down? I guess?"

"Is that why you were in the dorm when we first met?"

Jisung nodded. "It was a bad day, that day. But right now is worse."

"We're nearly there, though." Changbin tried to reassure him as they climbed the stairs to the dorm, leaving the storm behind.

The tension seemed to visibly leave Jisung's shoulders as they stepped inside.

"Jisung..." Chan looked resigned as he stared at the boy.

"Chan, let him stay." Changbin said. "He's afraid of-"

"I know." Chan said. "I'm just worried that he's gonna get kicked out of school if he keeps this up."

He glanced at Jisung, who had picked up one of Chan's guitars, and begun picking a soft melody. The fear was still evident in his eyes, but he seemed to have calmed a little.

"You act like you're his mum." Changbin sniggered at Chan.

"I don't!"

"You do." Jisung said quietly from where he sat in the corner of the room. He strummed a minor chord. "I already have both my parents nagging me, I don't need an extra one."

Changbin felt a pang in his chest as Jisung said that. "Don't say that..." He replied. "You should be more grateful."

Jisung looked confused. "Oh, yeah, I'm so grateful for the people who bother me on a daily basis, who don't support my dreams, who yell at me whenever they can find a reason to. Yeah, _real_ grateful."

"Jisung." Chan warned.

Changbin appreciated his intervention, but found that he wasn't angry at Jisung, despite him rubbing salt in his wounds. The kid just didn't know, nor understand.

"Do you know why I arrived at uni halfway through a term with a broken arm?"

Jisung shrugged. "No."

"I was in a car crash. It was the car crash that gave me these weird fucking powers. It was also the car crash that killed my parents."

Jisung's face paled. "Shit," He muttered, "I'm sorry, I didn't-"

"It's fine." Changbin replied. "I'm not angry at you. I'm just saying... be grateful for what you have. You never know when you'll no longer have it."

Jisung's face was still flooded with guilt, and he nodded before falling silent.

"What song were you playing?" Changbin asked.

"Oh, I was just making stuff up." Jisung shrugged.

"Really? It almost had a kinda bossa nova feel to it."

"The fuck is a bossa nova?"

Changbin shook his head, sighing. "It's a music genre, not that you'd know about it. Do you know _any_ music theory?"

"Uhh, I know chords. What else would I need?"

"Lots more, genuinely."

"Pfft, whatever. I'm not going to nerd school."

"It's called university, Jisung." Chan said.

"Yeah, nerd school, and I'm not going."

Lightning flashed outside again, and Jisung jumped.

"Go on, keep talking about nerd school." Changbin tried to keep his mind off it. It worked, as Jisung launched into a rant about the failings of the education system.

Half an hour later, Changbin could barely pay attention to the boy. How could someone talk so much for so long? But the storm was still going on, so he didn't stop him.

"-thing is, I would understand being tested in basic knowledge of maths and science, but these exams are not basic. They are basic for breakfast!"

Changbin clapped slowly as Jisung finally stopped, seeming to lose his train of thought.

"You weren't listening, were you?" Jisung said bluntly.

"Well, not really. But if you had to write an essay on why school sucks, you'd get full marks, I'll tell you that much."

There was a flash outside, so much brighter than before, almost blinding. The lightning seemed to be getting closer.

Any progress made in calming Jisung down was lost, as he began trembling again. His eyes were unfocused, staring at the window with a dazed kind of fear.

"That was too close." Chan said quietly, walking over to the window to look outside. He then cursed under his breath.

"What is it?" Changbin asked.

"It hit one of the trees across campus." Chan kept his voice quiet still, and it was barely heard over the pounding rain and thunder.

Changbin glanced over to where Jisung sat, spaced out but strangely still.

"I can feel it." Jisung murmured. "It... It's like I can sense where it's going." He shivered again. "How... how tall is this building?"

"Something like six stories, I think." Chan said. "It's not the tallest one here, we'll be fin-"

"No." Jisung's eyes became focused. "No, no, no... It's gonna hit us. We-we've gotta do something."

"Are you sure?" Chan asked, his expression now serious.

"I'm positive." Jisung breathed.

"Okay. I'll go and press the fire alarm to get everyone out of here."

"I'm gonna stop it." Jisung said.

"What?"

"I... I'll stop it. But you should still do that. Just in case."

"Hey, dumbass, stop acting like it's your funeral." Changbin said. "I'll go with you, yeah?"

Chan's face looked very worried. "Guys..."

"There's no time, go press the alarm."

"Idiots... Be safe."

Jisung nodded, and the two of them began running to the stairs, Chan headed the other way to press the fire alarm. Changbin didn't know what kind of superhero bullshit he was getting himself into, but he rolled with it.

There was silence as they ran up the stairs, just the sound of their breathing on top of the raging storm. Finally, they burst through the doors and into the downpour.

"Okay, how does this work then?" Changbin asked Jisung. "What are you gonna do?"

Jisung looked terrified. "I'm gonna stop it. With... my hands. Maybe you should stand back."

Changbin did, although he could feel a nagging worry for Jisung growing within him. He blamed Chan's overprotective influence.

Jisung lifted his hands up to the sky, and his fingertips began crackling with electricity. Was he meant to be creating more of it?

Changbin squinted when a bolt of lightning came flying down, but instead of sending them up in flames, it met Jisung's hands. Jisung seemed to be gathering up the electricity, and turning into some kind of massive ball.

"What now?" Changbin shouted when he seemed to have most of it, a glowing mass in between his hands.

"Throw it away?" Jisung panted.

It couldn't really be thrown, per say, but the electricity began moving in streaks towards the nearest utility pole, somehow being absorbed into the wires.

Jisung had almost got rid of all the lightning, when a person materialised out of _nowhere_ and knocked him to the ground.


	4. on a day like today

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is kind of bad and really short but the next chapter will hopefully be up soon

The last bus to Yeongsan High School drove off with an unnatural rattle of the engine. The bus stop was now empty, besides an old man engrossed in a newspaper.

Felix let out a sigh, trying to catch his breath. He'd missed it, _again_. There was no way he'd make it to school on time even if he ran.

There were now two options: get the bus to slow down and try to catch it, or he could walk and be late.

He preferred the idea of walking right now, despite the rain currently pouring.

He also wanted to miss maths.

So he set off, taking the long route for the hell of it. Maybe he could stop by a convenience store and get Jeongin a sandwich. That boy always seemed to forget to bring his lunch in.

His phone buzzed in his pocket.

_Innie: Where are you?_

He typed a quick reply.

_Lix: i missed the bus again_

_Innie: You idiot, we're looking at universities today! Did you forget? You're gonna miss it!_

Shit.

Yeah, he'd forgotten about that.

All sandwich-purchasing ideas out the window, he began running, willing himself to move faster. But he'd never been the most athletic person, and he knew that this just wasn't going to work.

"It really came to this, didn't it..." He muttered to no one in particular.

You see, Felix wasn't exactly _normal_. There was this thing that he could do, that he didn't like to do often, unless the situation called for it. He'd known about it since he was younger, but he had never been able to explain it back then.

He slowed to a walk, screwing his eyes up in concentration. There was burning sensation in his chest, growing larger and larger. Five, four, three, two, one.

He opened his eyes, and sighed in relief when he saw the school gates ahead of him. He started running again, spotting his class boarding a coach.

"Felix!" His teacher shouted when she spotted him. "Quickly, you're late!" She scribbled something on the register.

"Sorry, miss." He said breathlessly, stepping onto the coach.

Eyes skimming across the rows, he spotted Jeongin, who had saved a seat for him. He collapsed into it with a groan.

"You had me so worried Felix," Jeongin said, "I thought you weren't going to make it!"

"Yeah, me too."

"How did you manage to get here on time?" Jeongin said, and lowered his voice to a whisper. "Did you teleport?"

"Yeah." Felix replied. "Why does it always make me so exhausted, though?" He genuinely felt like he could nod off any second now, tiredness seeping into his body.

"If I knew, I'd tell you." Jeongin replied. "In superhero comics, there's always a physical toll when they use their powers."

"I'm not a superhero."

"Uh, you can teleport. I'm fairly certain that means you are."

"Yeah, cause I go around saving the world on a daily basis."

"You could! You could be doing it without even realising."

Felix rolled his eyes, and Jeongin punched his arm.

"Which universities are we looking at anyways?" He asked.

"None of them sounded that good..." Jeongin replied. "Oh! But there was this one music university, and it's quite nearby. Apparently someone who went there produces loads of soundtracks for dramas now."

"Really? That sounds cool."

"I think the first one we're going to is a science one, so it's gonna be so boring." Jeongin groaned. "But apparently the tour is optional, so we can just look around by ourselves."

"They better have a cafe." Felix said. "I'm in dire need of caffeine."

"The amount of caffeine you drink on a daily basis _cannot_ be healthy."

"Yeah, well, you're always drinking fizzy drinks so I think you're just as bad as me."

"Touché."

They continued bickering for the rest of the journey, growing louder as the rainfall outside increased, until the coach pulled to a stop outside the university.

It sure looked boring, just like the subject it specialised in. Felix's hatred of science could not be any stronger. He _despised_ it. It made no sense.

Well, especially since he _broke_ laws of physics by teleporting. Could science explain that? He didn't think so.

Felix and Jeongin watched their classmates all go off on the tour, and set off on their own in search of a cafe.

After about twenty minutes with no sign of a cafe, they settled for just sitting on a bench for the remaining few minutes. Felix still felt pretty drained from teleporting earlier. He wished he could figure out how to keep his energy up after teleporting.

Next to him, Jeongin was jiggling his leg up and down, and staring at the floor. He seemed anxious about something, which was unusual. Jeongin was normally all smiles and sunshine.

"You okay?" Felix asked.

"I guess." Jeongin muttered. "I don't know."

"You wanna tell me about it?"

"I don't know what I want to do. In the future. It's all coming so soon, we're looking at universities and I still have no idea what I want to do or where I want to go or if I even want to go to university and there's pressure to go to all these big universities and I don't even think my grades will be good enough and my parents have such high expectations and I know I'm going to let them down-"

"Woah, woah, woah." Felix interrupted. "Slow down. Theres a lot going on in that little head of yours. Take deep breaths, and just try to think about it reasonably.

"There is no pressure on you to decide what you want to do yet. You don't have to go to university. And I know that no matter what you do, your parents will be proud. There's nothing to worry about. If all else fails, I promise I'll stick by you, yeah?"

"Thanks." Jeongin gave him a toothy smile. "I just get worried."

"I get worried too. It's natural to be worried about things."

"I guess so. Thanks, again."

"No problem bro." Felix ruffled his hair. "We should probably head back to the coach now."

They got back on the coach, the other students raving about how good the university was. Felix checked the list on Jeongin's phone, and next up was the music university.

It was grand, and prestigious, tall buildings and grassy squares. There were lots of students milling around, looking busy and concentrated.

Felix and Jeongjn decided to veto the tour again, and look around by themselves.

By the looks of things, it had a wide range of courses covering different music genres. There were several rooms in which students could practice instruments, and a large grand hall for performing in. There were also recording and composing studios, filled with computers and high tech equipment. Everything about it screamed expensive.

Eventually they got past the main facilities, and in to a section with different dorm buildings.

Felix looked up at the sky, and saw someone standing on the roof of one of the buildings. His brain went into panic mode, assuming they were going to jump off, and he impulsively made the decision to help.

He teleported onto the roof, knocking them over with a thump.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i’ve been really ill so it took me ages to write this
> 
> but i did. and it’s ehh.
> 
> oh btw felix is in the same year of jeongin because complicated reasons but cause he’s an aussie boi when he transferred he like moved down a year.
> 
> anyway the next chapter should be out soon. and then the chapter after that is very gooooood.
> 
> hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!
> 
> 29/10/20: edited now


	5. clear skies

"What the fuck?" Jisung yelled, as the lightning fizzled into the sky.

"I'm so sorry!" The boy panted. "I thought you were going to jump off!"

"No, I was trying to stop the building from being set on fire! Who are you, anyway, teleporting kid?"

"You're wearing a high school uniform, you can't call me a kid. And my name's Felix. Who are you, lightning 'kid'?"

"_I_ am spiderman."

"No, you're not."

"How do you know?"

"You were controlling lightning!"

"Did you know that spiders can control lightning?"

"Jisung, just shut up." Changbin sighed.

Jisung rolled his eyes, and stared at his hands in astonishment. "Did I actually do it?"

"You did. Better than spiderman, if I may say so myself."

"No one's better than spiderman!" Jisung and the teleporting kid - Felix - shouted in sync. They both then stared at each other confusedly.

The doors to the roof opened once more, and Chan came bursting through, followed by a foxy looking boy wearing the same uniform as Felix.

"Thank god, you're okay." Chan panted, and then spoke to fox boy. "Hey, your friend's okay, too."

Fox boy looked very scared and confused. "Felix, you idiot!" He yelled. "You can't just teleport without warning me!"

Felix grimaced. "Sorry. I saw someone up here and thought they were gonna jump off."

"Why would anyone even be up here in the middle of a storm?" It was almost phrased like an accusation.

"Uh, I'm your friendly neighbourhood... Jisung." Jisung couldn't seem to find an appropriate name, and apparently spiderman was off the table now. "I just saved a bunch of people!"

"And it's gone to his head already." Chan muttered. "Are you still scared of lightning now?"

"Scared? I was never scared!"

"If you say so." Changbin laughed.

"He can control lightning!" Felix was talking excitedly to his friend, whose face seemed to light up at that statement.

"That's so cool!" Fox boy exclaimed.

"Not as cool as teleporting!" Jisung protested, suddenly humbled after receiving that praise.

"You guys... won't tell anyone, right?" Felix looked concerned.

"Don't worry, we're all like you in some way or another." Chan reassured him, and Felix relaxed.

"Aww, that makes me the odd one out!" Fox boy complained. "I wish I had a superpower."

"What, and do shit like this on a daily basis?" Changbin said. "I reckon I'd pass, to be honest. Jisung could've died."

"Were you worried?" Jisung gave him a scrutinising look.

"Blame Chan, he was the one making a big fuss about it. Rubbed off on me, or something."

Chan sighed, shaking his head.

"Oh shit, there goes our coach!" Fox boy yelled. "We gotta go now!"

He and Felix bowed a couple of times before running off.

"Strange kids." Changbin remarked.

"Yeah, they, uh... had a lot of dark energy coming from them." Chan said, looking deep in thought.

"You can tell?"

"Yeah. I don't know why, or how they've got that much, but it worries me. Strange kids indeed..."

Jisung kicked a stone, and smirked. "So, what should my superhero name be?"

"How about 'idiot'?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is short, but hope you enjoyed :)


	6. a bad dream

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i’ve been waiting so long to post this chapter i hope you enjoy reading it as much as i enjoyed writing it!

"Did you just switch it off?"

"No, I didn't."

"Why isn't the bulb on then? Did you blow it?"

"I think you'll find you're turning up the voltage for the alternating current, not the direct current."

Hyunjin's face flushed, and Jisung felt a wave of smugness overtake him. He could keep his powers in check, he would prove it, right here and now.

Hyunjin was annoying, but Jisung wasn't going to let that get to him. No matter how much he kind of wanted to electrocute the guy again, he could restrain himself. He just had to stay calm.

"Are you going to do _any_ work or are you going to let me do it all?"

"Well, considering what happened last time," Jisung replied, noticing the look of panic on Hyunjin's face, "I think I learn better from observing."

"That's just an excuse for being lazy." Hyunjin snapped.

"I'm not lazy." Jisung laughed incredulously.

"Fine. Then at the very least you can record the results."

"Fine."

They continued working in silence, Jisung making up some stuff to write down so that it would look like he was doing something. Why did Hyunjin have to be so rude to him? Was it so hard to act like a decent person?

"That doesn't make sense." Hyunjin was looking at Jisung's results.

"It does, those are the results I got."

Hyunjin shot him a glare. "Really? Because I was looking too, and these don't match up with what I saw."

"Well, _maybe_, I know this might be hard for you to accept, but you could be _wrong_." Jisung spat.

"Don't patronise me."

"Then get your head out of your ass!" Jisung yelled.

"What is your _problem_?" Hyunjin shouted back. "I haven't done anything wrong, what do you have against me?"

"Most of the time, it's because you're spewing nonsense like this from your mouth!"

"It's not nonsense, I'm right, and you _know_ that! You just hate that you're always wrong."

"Oh, so now you're calling me stupid?" Jisung stood up, fuming. "Not all of us can afford private tutors, you know!"

"I wasn't- you're putting words into my mouth!"

"You seem to struggle to do that yourself."

"I'm not the one who's failing all my classes here!"

At that point, Jisung snapped. He swung his fist at Hyunjin, feeling the satisfaction as it hit him square in the jaw, knocking him to the ground. Hyunjin scrambled to his feet, spitting blood on the floor in front of Jisung.

"Oh, it's like that is it-"

"Boys." The teacher said loudly.

Jisung suddenly became aware of the silence within the room, his classmates and teacher staring at the scene.

"Both of you, go to the headmaster's office." The teacher said quietly, her face full of disappointment.

They went quietly, Jisung ignoring the whispers and snickers of the students as he left. His hands were still shaking, and he knew, he _knew_ that he had almost lost control again. He had felt the electricity at the tips of his fingers.

It had been one fight too many, hadn't it? He'd be expelled now, for sure. He could see it now, the look of disappointment on Chan's face, the anger of his parents.

No other school would accept him, not with a record like his. He already got into fights enough, always getting the punishment because the other students could bribe their way out of it. This would be the last straw, though. He'd end up at one of those schools for delinquents, and even if he passed his exams, no one would give him a job.

Chan had warned him, but he hadn't listened. He hadn't listened, and now he had ruined his own life. If he had just ignored Hyunjin, instead of talking back, this wouldn't have happened.

The boy in question walked next to him, equally quiet. There was blood on his lower lip, and Jisung nearly felt bad, until he mentally corrected himself. So what if he was bleeding? He deserved it.

They reached the headmaster's office, and Hyunjin knocked on the door. There was no response, and Jisung peered in through the blurry glass.

"I don't think he's in." Hyunjin said.

"Well, let's wait for him inside then." Jisung said, pushing open the door before Hyunjin could protest.

The headmaster's office was by no means unfamiliar surroundings to Jisung. The amount of times he'd been in here, staring fixedly at the certificates on the back wall whilst being lectured on his behaviour. He'd watched the various trinkets on the desk come and go, each one as tacky as the next.

He sat down in one of the chairs facing the desk, putting his feet up on it. He could feel Hyunjin's judging stare, practically able to read the boy's mind as he stood there awkwardly.

If it was his last time in here, he may as well break a few more rules.

Contrary to Jisung's situation, though, it appeared to be Hyunjin's _first_ time in here. At least, the first time he wasn't being rewarded for his parents pouring money into the school, he guessed. He couldn't find any sympathy within himself for the jerk, not that he'd looked for it at all.

The minutes ticked by, with still no arrival of the headmaster. Jisung grew restless, rummaging around in drawers and cupboards, trying to find something interesting. All he found were reports and records, and a Taylor Swift concert ticket(was the headmaster a secret fan?).

Soon he'd been through every draw in the office, and he'd almost - shudder - grown used to Hyunjin's withering glare. He turned his gaze to the computer, a grin making its way onto his face.

It didn't go unnoticed by Hyunjin. "Stop it, you're going to get caught."

"I'm practically expelled, anyway." Jisung shrugged.

"But this will leave a stain on my record, because I didn't stop you. So, stop."

"Couldn't care less about your record or reputation or whatever."

"Oh, come on, out of common human decency, don't you at least respect that I don't deserve punishment for something that isn't my fault?"

"Now, now, don't make me read between the lines again." Jisung replied. "You don't want to be punched again? Or do you?" He gasped. "Are you _into that_?"

Hyunjin let out a noise similar to a growl. "Shut the fuck up."

"Do you kiss your mother with that mouth, Hwang?" Jisung really knew that he should just shut up. But... this guy was _so easy_ to annoy.

Hyunjin rolled his eyes, huffing.

Jisung moved back to the computer, trying to think of what the password. The headmaster had probably written it down somewhere.

He began rummaging through the draws again, when something caught his eye that he hadn't seen before. It sort of looked like a train ticket.

He read what it said.

_To new world_

_One way ticket_

Underneath was listed a station, and a date - it was today.

Yeah, if he was being honest, it seemed kind of dodgy. But there was something about it that intrigued him. He wanted to go to the station, and see what this was all about. There was a mystery about it, and it pulled him in.

"Well, bye, Hwang." Jisung said, walking to the door.

"What- Where are you going?" Hyunjin spluttered.

"Um..." He read the ticket again. "Gyeongnae station."

"What? Why?"

"I dunno, I found this train ticket in one of the drawers, so I'm going to check it out."

"You can't just go! I'll probably get into trouble for that as well!"

"Then go with me." Jisung couldn't believe what he was saying. "They can't punish you if they can't find you."

"Are you kidding me?"

"You've gotta loosen up, Hwang. Make up your mind. What's it gonna be?"

"I..." Hyunjin looked like he was in genuine pain just thinking about breaking the rules. "Fine."

"Wait, really?" Jisung laughed.

"Yeah. Let's go before I change my mind."

As they left the school, Jisung pulled up a map on his phone to find out where the station was. It was surprisingly nearby.

"So," Hyunjin began as they walked, "Why do you hate me so much?"

"I mean... It's not exactly you specifically. I hate everyone at school."

"Me too."

"Huh? Don't you go to study groups and stuff, though?"

"That's because I need to. I can't let my grades slip. I have to spend every second of my free time studying, my parents won't- I mean, I won't forgive myself if I do badly."

He'd covered his slip up, but Jisung had still noticed.

"Well, you've got that in common with pretty much everyone else at this school." Jisung said.

"Besides you."

"Yeah. I don't belong there, so there's no point pretending that I do, or even trying to fit in."

"I think you would fit in if you put in the effort."

"I'm pretty sure I'm the only kid in our year on a scholarship."

"You're not the only one on a scholarship. Kim Seungmin has a scholarship, too."

"Wait, really? He always seemed so..."

"Rich? Posh?"

"You forgot 'stuck up'."

"I don't know whether to take offence to that."

"You should probably be offended by most of the things I say." It was in this moment that Jisung realised he was having a conversation with Hyunjin. An actual conversation, without them tearing at each other's throats. No punching, no arguing.

It was almost funny.

"Oh, we're here." Jisung said as they stood in front of the station.

The paint was peeling off the sign, and the doors were locked with a massive padlock. There were no lights on inside.

"I think this is a ghost station..." Hyunjin mumbled.

"So like, abandoned?"

"This doesn't feel right. I don't think we should go in there."

"Oh, come on, this just got ten times cooler!" Jisung exclaimed. There was something about the station, it was tugging at his gut. He had a very strong urge to go in.

"Jisung, this isn't right."

He tugged at the padlock, and it fell to the ground with a clatter.

"Nice." He muttered. He pushed open the doors, and began walking down the steps into the station.

"Jisung, please. I've got a really bad feeling about this."

"Stop being a pussy." Jisung grabbed Hyunjin's wrist, dragging him down with him.

The light of his phone did little to illuminate their path, but Jisung could see the rotting tiles on the walls, the cobwebs on the handrail. The steps were worn and damp, each footstep making an eerie echo.

Jisung could feel Hyunjin's hand trembling as he held it - and then he realised that he was still holding onto it. He didn't let go, though.

They reached the bottom of the stairs, and started walking through a long tunnel that must lead to the platform. The darkness was really starting to surround them. Jisung glanced back, and only saw blackness, no trace of the way they'd come.

The tunnel came to an end, and, sure enough, opened up onto the platform. It was strange, seeing the station so empty, no one there. He doubted a train would stop here. But maybe they still passed through, on the way to other stations.

Maybe that was why he heard a strange creaking noise.

"Jisung." Hyunjin said quietly.

"Yeah?"

"Y-You can hear that too, right?"

The creaking was slowly getting louder, and it no longer sounded like creaking. It sounded more like distorted screaming.

Jisung subconsciously squeezed Hyunjin's hand tighter.

There was a strong gust of wind, as if a train was passing by. But there was nothing, no train.

Until there was.

It flickered into existence like a broken light, colour bouncing on and off like glitches. It was so bright, so colourful. The colours were constantly glitching around each other, like dancing flames.

With a click, the doors opened, and white light burst out of them, causing Jisung to glance away. The white light faded, and he slowly looked back at the train.

Through the doors, instead of the train's interior, he saw a field of purple grass. A gentle wind was blowing, and the sky was cloudless and clear.

He found himself drawn to it. What was this place? It looked so beautiful, like a paradise he couldn't have ever even dreamed of. He wanted to go there, stay there forever, lying in the grass.

He stepped through the doors, no protesting from Hyunjin - he, too, seemed enamoured with the place.

Together, they entered this new world.

The grass was soft beneath his feet, the breeze refreshing and calming. They walked, no direction in mind. It was like all his worries had been taken away. Why should he worry anymore? His old life was in that old world, and he was going to stay here forever. He never had to go back there.

There were trees lining the edge of the field, their leaves rustling in the wind. It almost sounded like whispering, but any words he heard were in no language he understood. He didn't feel particularly unnerved by it; in fact, he wanted to get closer to make out what they were saying.

He let his feet guide him towards the trees, the whispers growing louder and louder, still making no sense.

"What are you saying?" He said, walking faster, desperate to reach them.

He was so close now, he could hear the whispering so loudly in his ears.

Closer, closer.

He stepped onto the boundary.

Everything went cold.

The breeze was no longer calming, it was harsh, icy wind. The trees were no longer welcoming, they looked over him with shadows and darkness.

He stumbled backwards, heart thumping. He ran as fast as he could.

This wasn't right. This was so horribly wrong.

He saw Hyunjin in the middle of the field, looking into a huge mirror sitting in the grass. He ran faster, knowing that they both had to leave this place, now.

"Hyunjin!" He shouted as he ran.

Hyunjin glanced back at him with an oblivious smile, and turned back to the mirror.

"Hyunjin, we have to get out of here!

"No, we don't." Why was he so calm, why was he smiling? Couldn't he see that everything was wrong?

"Hyunjin, please! I should have listened to you, we never should have gone here in the first place! We have to go!"

Jisung finally caught up to the boy, and grabbed his arm.

"Please, Hyunjin."

"Why would we need to leave?"

Jisung saw the shadows creeping in from the edge of the field.

"The trees, look at the trees!"

Hyunjin wavered.

"This isn't right!"

"Why... The shadows..." Hyunjin slowly seemed to be coming to his senses.

"COME ON, LETS GO!" Jisung shouted, grabbing his arm.

Hyunjin shot one last despairing look at the mirror, before letting Jisung pull him along.

They ran and ran, heading back for the doors which they'd entered through. The air was getting colder, everything was getting darker as the shadows closed in.

They reached the doors, and stumbled through, Jisung slamming them shut forcefully.

But they weren't at the station now. Instead, they were in an elevator.

"What..." Jisung muttered. He looked at Hyunjin, who leant against the wall, gasping for breath.

With a lurch, the elevator began moving downwards.

Jisung couldn't hide his fear anymore, he couldn't hide the panic rising within him. Why were they here? Where were they going?

The elevator stopped.

Jisung rammed the door button repeatedly, but the doors didn't open.

The light went out, and the elevator began falling.

Jisung clung onto the rail, suddenly aware of his own screaming, of the tears running down his face. All he could think was that this was it. He was going to die.

His whole life seemed to flash before his eyes, and he thought of all the things he could have done differently. He thought of his parents, of Chan and Changbin, the only two friends he'd ever had.

All he could feel was regret. He didn't want to die here. Not now, not like this.

His body slammed into the floor, and for a moment he thought the elevator had hit the ground. But he knew he'd be dead if it had. Instead, it seemed to have stopped falling. It was tilting from side to side, as if it had been stopped in midair.

He slowly got to his feet, his body aching as he did so. Hyunjin lay motionless on the floor, and Jisung dropped to a crouch, listening for if he was breathing. It was faint, but it was there, and he let out a sigh of relief.

Now he just had to figure out how to get out of here.

Shakily, he pulled his phone out his pocket. In the left hand corner, there were two bars of signal. He had no clue how he had signal, but he wasn't going to waste it.

He called his most called contact.

The phone rang, and rang, and he picked up.

_”Hello?”_

He'd never been so happy to hear that voice.

"Chan. It's bad, it's really bad. I-I don't know what to do, we went to Gyeongnae station, but I don't know where I am. Please find me-"

The call cut off with a beep.

And he heard the whispers starting up again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> shit’s going DOWN
> 
> yeah, ha, you thought this story was going to be all sunshine and rainbows NO
> 
> sorry i’m too overexcited i need to calm down
> 
> as you can see, i accidentally wrote some good™️ hyunsung ACCIDENTALLY
> 
> um yeah besides that what are your theories? the train, the field, the elevator? can you tell i get a lot of inspiration from their music videos hehe
> 
> not even kidding half this chapter was inspired by levanter
> 
> btw quick disclaimer names like the station name or school names are all completely made up
> 
> but yeah,, hope you enjoyed? knowing me, there won’t be another update for a while so hopefully this’ll satisfy you until then. i know i leave like every chapter on a cliffhanger and i’m SORRY but i had to
> 
> yayy
> 
> for more chaoticness, follow my twitter: @midnightmxnwalk


	7. chase the night away

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM SORRY ITS BEEN LIKE THREE MONTHS AHDDJJSJSHAHAJSD
> 
> that is a new record of not updating for me. the funny part is i wrote most of this chapter today, so literally it was just procrastination, my worst enemy.
> 
> i hope it’s worth the wait?

"Jisung? Jisung, are you there?" Chan knew the answer when he heard silence from the other end.

This was bad, really bad. Jisung was in trouble, he had sounded so _scared_.

"Chan, what's wrong?" Changbin asked, clearly having noticed Chan's distress.

"I-It's Jisung- He's- We need to- Need to go to Gyeongnae station..."

"Woah, woah, calm down. Jisung's in trouble? As in not school shit but more of the life threatening kind?"

Chan nodded.

"Okay. Okay, then we'll find this station."

Chan got his phone out, gps open, and began running, Changbin close behind.

It wasn't far, and he knew they'd found the right place when he saw the rusted sign above the gates that read _Gyeongnae_.

"I don't like this place..." Changbin mumbled. "Let's just get this over with."

They began walking down the stairs. The tunnels were dark and musty, the walls covered in grime. Their footsteps echoed loudly as they walked, and Chan felt a building sense of dread.

At the bottom of the stairs was an elevator. Weaving in and out of the cracks between the doors was a wispy, black smoke. Chan stopped in his tracks.

_The shadows._

There was an awful feeling in his gut as he stared at it, a buzzing in his ears. Some sort of invisible force was pulling him closer, whilst at the same time pushing him back. And faintly, from the shadows, he could hear eerie whispers.

A dreadful wave of suspicion came over him, and he snapped out of his trance, pulling the shadows away from the elevator. They resisted, and his knees nearly buckled under the pressure. He pulled harder, standing his ground.

Like the snapping of a cord, they broke away, dissolving into nothing.

And now he could hear the desperate cries for help coming from inside the elevator.

He rammed the button at the side, but the doors didn't open. Taking a deep breath, he squeezed his fingers into the gap between the doors, trying to pull them apart. His hands were shaking from the pressure, his forehead was coated in sweat, but all he could think of was Jisung.

Another pair of hands grabbed the door as well, and Chan glanced behind him to see Changbin, with a grim determination on his face. With Changbin's help, the doors shifted a little.

They both kept pushing, with all their strength. The doors moved, little by little, until finally opening fully.

Chan saw Jisung crouched in the corner, Hwang Hyunjin lying unconscious next to him. Jisung was hyperventilating, rocking back and forth on his heels. Chan ran over immediately, pulling him into a hug and whispering as many reassurances as he could.

"Chan..." Jisung said, his voice barely even a whisper.

"It's okay, Jisung, I'm here, you're okay."

"I was so scared..."

"Are you hurt?" Chan pulled away, looking for injuries.

"I... I don't know. I feel really... weak."

Jisung's eyes were full of trauma, his body shaking intensely. Chan's heart broke at the sight of him like that, and it was all he could do to not break down as well.

"Do you think you can stand up?" He asked.

"I... think so." Jisung replied, and Chan helped him up onto shaky legs. Suddenly a wave of panic came over Jisung's face. "Hyunjin, oh god, is Hyunjin okay, please tell me he's okay."

"He's alright." Changbin had picked up said boy bridal style. "From what I can see, he's just unconscious."

"You're here too." Jisung said, not having noticed Changbin's presence before.

"Of course I am. Someone's gotta stop you from getting into any more trouble." Changbin grinned.

With Jisung leaning on Chan for support, they began making their way out of the station. Chan had so many questions going through his mind, but he knew it would be better to take them back to his dorm before asking any of them.

When they got to the dorm, Changbin carefully laid Hyunjin down on Chan's bed. The boy was still unconscious, stirring every now and then in his sleep.

Chan guided Jisung to sit down, before doing the same.

"It's okay if you don't want to tell me, Jisung, but what happened?" He asked.

"It's all my fault," Jisung said, his eyes welling up with tears, "I was so stupid. I made him go with me."

"Why did you go there?"

"We'd got into a fight and had to go to the headmasters office." Chan stiffened at that, but didn't say anything. "The headmaster wasn't there and I got bored, rummaging through all his drawers and stuff. I found a ticket- This ticket." He took it out of his pocket, handing it over to Chan.

"'To new world'?" Chan read aloud.

"The rational part of me knew something was wrong. But it was like being under a spell, I felt as though I had to go there. And I dragged Hyunjin along with me..." Jisung choked back a sob.

"Jisung, it's not your fault." Chan said. "You said it yourself, some sort of spell convinced you to go there."

"What happened next?" Changbin asked from where he stood in the corner of the room.

"It's... difficult to explain. The platform was empty, but it sounded like a train was approaching. I felt it go by, but saw nothing, but then it... it appeared. We stepped through the doors, and we were in this huge field. As soon as my feet hit the grass, I didn't want to leave. It was as if all my worries were being washed away.

"The trees. No, it wasn't the trees. It was their shadows. They were... whispering. I went closer to them, I wanted to hear what they were saying. When I stepped into the shadows, everything went cold. And in that moment I knew it was all wrong.

"I ran, pulling Hyunjin with me. When we went back though the doors, we didn't end up back on the platform. We ended up in the elevator. The elevator fell, and I... I really thought I was going to die. But then it stopped, and I called you. And then I heard the whispers again, and..." Jisung shuddered. "It was like my soul was being pulled out of my body."

"But we found you." Chan finished, pulling Jisung into an embrace. Jisung held on tightly to him, and didn't let go for a while.

Before anyone could say anything else, Hyunjin promptly started screaming.

"Woah, woah, it's okay-" Chan began.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU? WHY HAVE YOU KIDNAPPED ME?"

"We didn't-"

"MY PARENTS WILL NOT PAY A RANSOM, YOU MAY AS WELL GIVE UP!"

"How about you calm down-" Changbin said.

"YOU!" Hyunjin yelled. "INSULTING ME WASN'T ENOUGH, WAS IT? YOU HAD THE NERVE TO-"

"HYUNJIN!" Jisung yelled.

"Jisung..." Hyunjin's eyes fell on the boy. "What the fuck happened?"

"You don't remember?"

"You made me bunk off school. Of course I remember. It was more of a rhetorical question."

"Your mum's a rhetorical question." Jisung replied.

"Can we all calm down?" Chan said, feeling as though ten years had been taken off his life.

"What happened back there... It can't have been real, can it?" Hyunjin mumbled.

"Unfortunately, it was." Chan said. "Creepy train station with creepy shadows that... yeah, they were weird."

"I guess I should thank you for saving me." Hyunjin said.

"It's nothing."

"Thank you." Hyunjin replied firmly. He then walked over to Jisung, punching his arm.

"Ow! What the hell was that for?"

"That was for punching me." He hit Jisung again. "_That_ was for nearly getting us both killed." He then held out his hand. "Truce? No more fighting."

"Sure." Jisung took his hand, shaking it lightly.

"Okay, that's sweet." Chan said. "Now go back to school."

"Chan!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hyunjin is astrid from how to train your dragon
> 
> i hope you enjoyed this chapter! i really shouldn’t make any promises about updating with my track record but hopefully? soon?
> 
> feel free to kudos, comment, or follow my twitter: @midnightmxnwalk


	8. strange room

One thing Changbin hadn't known about university was that the lectures were _so_ boring. Why were all the professors' voices so monotone? He couldn't listen to it without getting a headache.

Next to him, a guy was making notes very loudly. The sound of the pen scratching the paper was really starting to get on Changbin's nerves.

"Can you be a little quieter?" He asked.

The guy paused his note taking, looking at Changbin. "It's boring, isn't it?" He said.

"Uh, I guess." Changbin replied.

"Man, I am so glad I don't do this every day." The guy stretched out his hand, and it was then that Changbin noticed he was wearing a glove.

"Isn't your hand warm?"

"Warm? No." The guy's voice got a little higher. "Why would it be warm?"

"You're wearing a glove indoors."

"Oh, yeah... it's a hobby."

Changbin shrugged, trying to focus on the lecture again.

Eventually it ended, and he headed out. He noticed the glove guy walking behind him.

"I am never doing that again." Glove guy said. "So boring, how do you sit through that?"

"I have to. You act as if you don't have to?"

"I don't. I'm not a student here."

"What? Why are you here, then?"

"Oh, I was covering for my friend Chan, he had to do something important, and I didn't really ask what it was."

"Chan? He's not in my class though."

"What?"

"He's in a completely different year."

"So that... wasn't Advanced Classical Music?"

"No, it's Music Production?"

Glove guy let out a groan. "He's gonna kill me. Hang on, do you know Chan?"

"Yeah, he's my roommate." Changbin said.

"Well, I say a friend of Chan's is a friend of mine."

"You do?"

"I'm Lee Minho." He held out his gloved hand to shake. Changbin shook it, surprised by how heavy it was.

"Seo Changbin." He said in return.

"Changbin, could you help me figure out how the hell to get out of here?" Minho said. "This campus is a maze."

Changbin sighed. "Okay. It's this way."

Minho followed him, making pointless conversation about the weather and other things Changbin didn't care about. Eventually they reached the gate, to Changbin's relief.

"Thanks, you saved me from being lost in there forever." Minho laughed. "Is there a way I can repay you?"

"You really don't have to-"

"Oh, I know!" Minho said. "I'll make something for you. Ooh, what about noise cancelling headphones so you don't have to listen to boring lectures? If you drop by my shop later today, I promise I'll make you something good. Here's the address." A card was pressed into Changbin's hand. "Okay, bye! Thanks again!"

And just like that he was gone.

Changbin sighed. Minho had asked him to come to his shop. Changbin had never really been good at saying no to people. Thus, he resigned himself to his fate of seeing the guy again.

"Ow!" There was a thud next to him.

Changbin peered in the direction of the noise, to see Jisung climbing - or rather falling over - the fence that surrounded campus.

"Dude." Changbin said. "You can't keep bunking off school and coming here."

Jisung noticed him and scowled. "Hey, I thought you were cool, you can't just go and do a Chan on me."

"I am _not_ doing a Chan. What I'm saying is if he finds you in our dorm one more time he will literally kill you."

"I don't give a flying fuck."

"Oh yeah?" Changbin sniggered. "So why are you here this time?"

"Hyunjin's... being annoying."

"I thought you guys had a truce?"

"I mean... he doesn't even say anything and I look at him and I just get annoyed cause of his stupid hair and stupid face and-"

"Wait." Changbin had a sudden realisation. "Are you... _jealous_ of him?"

Jisung's jaw dropped. "Jealous? Of him? That's, that's absurd, you're crazy, why would I be- oh my god. I am."

Changbin tried not to laugh.

"What do I do?" Jisung muttered.

"I dunno, talk it out with him?"

"I can't be _bothered_ to walk back to school."

"Okay, fine then. Let's pray that Chan isn't in the dorm."

Unfortunately for Jisung, he was.

"Don't tell me to go back to school!" Jisung yelled as soon as Chan spotted him.

"Why are you here?" He turned to Changbin. "Why did you let him-"

"Leave me out of this." Changbin protested.

"I am not emotionally okay enough to be writing essays." Was Jisung's excuse.

"Why?" Chan questioned.

"Cause I figured out he has a crush on Hyunjin." Changbin sniggered, deciding to mess with Jisung.

"I do _not_\- That's bullshit- I'm not gay!" Jisung spluttered.

Chan sighed, looking between the two of them with an expression of confusion.

"I do _not_ have a crush on Hyunjin," Jisung continued, "But Changbin maybe figured out that... I'm a teeny tiny bit jealous of him." He said the last part quietly.

"Why would you be jealous of him?"

"I don't know! He's just, like, breathing and it's perfect? How can someone breathe perfectly?"

"Gay!" Changbin coughed into his hand. Jisung tried to strangle him.

Chan rolled his eyes. "You really should go back to school."

"Nu-uh." Jisung shook his head. "Not happening."

"You're fighting a losing battle, Chan." Changbin added helpfully.

"Yeah, my attendance last year was 69%!" Jisung grinned.

"That's not something to be proud of!" Chan said.

"I dunno..." Changbin laughed. "That is pretty cool."

Chan sighed. "I give up on both of you."

"Oh dang, who's gonna nag me about school now?" Jisung said despairingly. "My delinquent tendencies are going to get the best of me!"

"Oh, just sit down and do whatever you were going to do in here."

"I was gonna complain to Changbin."

"Nope." Changbin said. "I've made other plans."

"Really?"

"Uh, yeah..." He thought of that Minho guy earlier. "I'm going to a..." He took out the card. "An engineering shop."

"A what?"

"Engineering shop. Yeah. Sorry, Jisung, you'll have to complain to Chan instead."

"Good lord." Chan muttered.

"Don't kill each other while I'm gone."

"Can't make any promises."

And at that, Changbin set off for... the engineering shop. Who was this guy? Wearing gloves for a hobby. He really was weird, but, well, Changbin would do pretty much anything to escape Jisung's rants.

He followed the address on the card, finding himself on a small side street. The shop itself was quite small, and didn't appear busy at all.

Changbin stepped inside warily. The walls were lined with strange hunks of metal that looked like car parts and other stuff like that. At the back of the shop was a counter, currently unmanned. He went up and rang the bell.

"Just a second!" Came a shout from a door behind the counter. It opened, and Minho stepped through. "Oh, Changbin!"

Changbin would've greeted him back. But his jaw dropped and he found it hard to form any words.

Minho's left arm was made entirely of metal.

He glanced down at it. "Ah, this. No big deal. Works like a normal arm." He wiggled the fingers.

"You..." Changbin was still gaping like a goldfish. He didn't really mean to be rude, but he couldn't stop staring.

"So." Minho slammed his hands on the counter(the metal one making quite a noise). "What can I make for you?"

"I... don't really know, to be honest." Changbin said, finally able to speak normally again.

Minho laughed. "Well, everything on the walls is pretty boring. Tell you what, since I like you, I'll let you see what I've got in the back."

He lead Changbin through the door behind the counter, and Changbin felt his jaw drop for the second time that day.

Several model arms not unlike Minho's; what looked like both a sword and a gun; many, many sunglasses with holographic glass. But what caught Changbin's attention was what stood at the back of the room.

It was a leather suit; not the office wear type, the superhero type. Full body, coarse, black material that was shimmering in the lighting. Something about it screamed invincible.

"I've been working on it for a while." Minho said. "Finding the right balance between the leather and metal. It's meant to be protective, you see. I've been trying to use electricity to create a built-in force field but it's no easy feat."

"It's amazing." Changbin said. "How come all this stuff is out back? Why aren't you selling it?"

"Ah... well, firstly I don't have a gun license. Also, can you imagine if it got into the wrong hands? No, I wouldn't risk that."

"What do the glasses do?"

"They're protective, but also analyse your surroundings. I've been programming an AI that can look at someone and figure out their weight, height, and so on. It can pick up the temperature and incoming weather. They can also deflect rain."

"That's badass." Was all Changbin could say.

"Thanks. So, whilst it's technically not for sale, anything catch your eye?"

"Oh no, I couldn't..." Changbin said. "All of this is way too good for me."

"You don't even wanna hack off your own arm and replace it with a metal one?"

Changbin's eyes widened.

"I'm kidding! And I didn't cut off my own arm, by the way. I was born without it."

"Oh." Changbin felt a strange urge to apologise. "I'm sorry."

"No big deal. I made a new one." He lifted his left arm, smirking.

"By yourself?"

"With the help of my cats. But anyway, you really don't want anything?"

"I..." Changbin hesitated. He thought back to the beginning of his time at university, when those assholes had beaten him up. A protective suit, huh... "How much would you want for the suit?"

Minho raised an eyebrow. "More than you can afford, college kid. Prototype and all."

"Fair..."

"But if you come back next week, I will have perfected it, and may have started making copies. And if I'm feeling nice, I may do discounts for certain people."

"Next week." Changbin smiled. "I can wait until then."

"See you then. You probably have some nerdy music uni stuff to do now, don't you?"

Changbin chuckled. "Yeah, probably. See you next week."

"Bye, college kid. Thanks for dropping by."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a wild minho has appeared!
> 
> i should probably tag hyunsung at this point as well lol...
> 
> hope you guys enjoyed :)  
i always appreciate comments so don’t feel shy!


	9. the starting line

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> another update that i wrote barely a few hours before publishing 
> 
> i didn’t count them but there’s... quite a few marvel references whoops

"So..." Jisung hummed as he walked backwards. "I was thinking... You guys... Could let me try out your fancy music software."

Changbin rolled his eyes. "Seriously? You invited us out for coffee just to ask that?"

"Hey, I don't have the money for that kinda shit. Help a fellow rapper out."

"Hell no." Chan said. "You can barely keep up with school."

"Oh, sure, keep using the 'school' argument. You know, it's really getting old-"

Clang!

Jisung had walked straight into a lamppost. "Oh fuck, I think I just- Oh no-" He bent over as an arc of electricity burst out of him, causing a mild explosion in the middle of the pavement. Suddenly the whole street was looking at the three of them.

"Okay, yeah, let's get the fuck out of here right about _now_-" Chan said, but was cut off by a figure quite literally materialising from the shadows and decking him square in the face.

The figure landed in a crouch, no distinguishable features; he seemed to be wearing some sort of suit. Something about it looked so familiar to Changbin, the entire design-

"Minho?"

Bam! He too, got punched in the face.

"Okay, if you're not Minho, who the fuck are you?" Changbin yelled, throwing a retaliating punch. Of course, it did nothing; that suit had a built in forcefield. "Why do you have his suit?"

The figure didn't reply, instead looking around and zeroing in on Jisung, whose fingers were still crackling with electricity. The figure started running, grabbing hold of the lamppost and swinging round to kick the boy in the face.

Jisung stretched out his hands and they were both blown backwards by another arc of electricity.

"Dude!" Changbin screamed, running over to Jisung.

"I'm fine..." Jisung mumbled, getting to his feet.

"Guys, I really think we need to go-" Chan said, ducking a hit from their attacker and sending a blast of shadows towards him. The guy just seemed to absorb them.

Changbin ran to his aid, trying to do something despite his punches having no effect. The voices from the people gathered around them suddenly became so loud, and he tried to hide his face.

It seemed the figure had become aware of the crowd as well, as he disappeared into the shadows as suddenly as he'd appeared.

"Changbin!" Someone was fighting their way through the crowd - Minho. "Hey, that guy showed up out of nowhere and stole my suit! Where did he go?"

"He disappeared." Jisung said.

"Let's go, quickly!" Chan yelled, and the four of them set off, weaving through the streets and alleyways until they had escaped any onlookers.

Jisung turned to Minho. "Who are you? Your arm-"

"Made it myself." Minho grinned. "But that's not important. Changbin, do you remember what I said about that suit getting into the wrong hands?"

"Yeah. We've gotta stop that guy. Did you get a look at his face?"

"No. He was wearing a mask when he came in. Threw some mad punches. So did you."

"Yeah, that's kind of a thing that I can do."

"I always wanted spider-man to be real when I was a kid. You three seem like the next best thing, although you don't seem to have any clue what you're doing."

"Why would we?" Chan replied. "I don't tend to get attacked by weird guys in suits that often."

"Get used to it. You guys are helping me get my suit back before any more damage is done."

"I suppose we don't have a choice." Jisung said. "Okay, Bucky Barnes, what's the first step to getting your suit back?"

"My name is Minho. First things first, I need a fucking coffee."

"Great."

Ten minutes later, they found themselves sitting inside a coffee shop packed with high school students.

"This is where you usually get your coffee." Changbin deadpanned.

"Yeah, best place in the city." Minho replied, not seeming dazed by the excessive noise nor coffee cups that went flying across the room every two seconds.

"See, those kids are my kind of people." Jisung mused. "Studying is for losers, why study when you can do _this_?" He gestured to the general chaos.

"Back in my day, this was considered a quiet day." Minho said. "The private schools are spreading their academic bullshit all across the city now."

"You're only like two years older than me?" Jisung scoffed.

"Two years and look what this place has become."

"So." Chan said, preventing the topic of conversation from straying any further. "How do we find this guy?"

"Well, I'd need to find a way to activate the wireless tracker connected to the suit from my computer which would involve excessive hacking to lock down on a location which will be impossible if he's moving around because that will mess up the gps signal so the best time to do it would theoretically be night - however that guy was freakishly weird so who knows if he's nocturnal - chances are I'll spend several days straight at my computer and if I'm lucky I'll get him. But that'll all be for nothing if he found the tracker and destroyed it."

"I understood exactly none of that." Jisung said, smiling. "Really starting out on a positive note here."

"What can we do whilst you do that?" Changbin asked.

"Get good at fighting bad guys? Recruit your own avengers team? I don't know, man, but I'll need you guys when it comes down to the fighting." Minho said. "My sword arm doesn't quite agree with my nerves."

"You have a sword arm?"

"Sort of. I'm working on it."

The door of the shop opened and a collective groan came out of the high school students. "Go home, nerds!"

"Fuck. No." Jisung muttered, diving underneath the table. Changbin looked to see that several Daeseong kids had arrived, one of them being Hyunjin. "He has _not_ seen me, he has not seen me-"

"Hey, is that Jisung?" One of the kids said as they walked in.

"No, I'm not!" Jisung yelled. "I am invisible, you can't see me, _why couldn't I be given the power of invisibility?_"

"Finally decided to hang around your own kind." Another guy sneered.

"Hey, lay off him." Hyunjin said.

"Why are you standing up for him? Don't tell me you have such low standards as _these_ sorts of people."

Changbin noticed Minho standing up, flexing his metal arm. "So." He said conversationally. "The posh kids decided to hang out in the pigsty. If anything, I'd say _that's_ low standards."

"Freak."

"Oh, throwing names now? Feeling brave? How about you run home to your mommy?"

"You don't scare me."

"Is that so."

Minho picked up his coffee cup, and with a single motion, crushed it onto dust.

"Run along now. _Nerds_."

Everyone but Hyunjin left. He stood awkwardly, biting his lip. "I'm so sorry about those guys."

"Fuck them." Jisung said, sliding up from under the table. "Don't hang out with idiots like that."

Hyunjin gave him a confused look. "Thanks, I guess. I'll try not to in the future." He then spoke to Minho. "Nice arm."

"Can't believe that you're posh _and_ nice. Learn something new everyday, I guess." Minho said. "You seem cool. Wanna join a dangerous mission to catch a thief?"

"Come again?"

"Please don't." Jisung muttered. "You've seen enough weird shadows, and you don't even have powers." He slapped a hand over his mouth.

"Powers?"

Minho raised his eyebrows. "Next best thing after spider-man. These three dudes - man, we really need to think of a name for this spicy little ragtag avengers team."

"I am not following at all here." Hyunjin said. "Powers? Like what, you were bitten by a radioactive spider?"

"Nope. Car crash." Changbin said.

"An unfortunate incident involving hair curlers and a swimming pool." Jisung added.

Chan just shrugged. "Man, I don't even know how I got mine."

"Under normal circumstances I wouldn't be inclined to believe you, but..." Hyunjin sighed, looking at Jisung. "Some freaky shit happened at that train station."

"I once exorcised a cat at a train station." Minho said absentmindedly.

"I'm not even gonna ask." Changbin muttered.

"So you guys... are trying to catch a thief?" Hyunjin asked bemusedly.

"I'm afraid that it's probably a little more complicated than that." Chan replied. "The guy was manipulating shadows like the ones at the train station. It's how he disappeared; he quite literally melted into them. There's something more than thievery going on here."

"Okay. And you want me to help because... you think I'm cool?"

Minho laughed. "Hey, give yourself more credit. You're probably the most well educated person here. I criticise the school system, but someone book-smart can come in handy."

"Uh... thanks?"

"He's not wrong." Changbin said. "Jisung is useless cause he doesn't study."

Jisung looked ready to fight Changbin at that, but Chan held him back. "No one here is useless. I think you would really help us, Hyunjin, so what do you say?"

"Okay. Why not?"

"That's the spirit!" Minho clapped him on the back with his metal hand - ouch. "So, Hyunjin, ever shot a gun before?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so, hope you enjoyed this chapter! 
> 
> i’m really enjoying writing minho’s character, with all his weird little quirks as well as being a badass
> 
> but yeah, things will be moving forward from this point because finally there’s an actual plot happening it only took me ten chapters 
> 
> [twitter](https://mobile.twitter.com/macaronwriting)


	10. we might as well be strangers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> another update! two important characters are introduced here...

Chemistry practicals were... interesting. Hyunjin wasn't sure what compelled them to let teenagers have control over open flames, but it certainly always seemed ended up with someone getting hurt.

Usually that someone ended up being Hyunjin. Usually it was because of Jisung.

But maybe their truce would reveal that those occasions hadn't been 'accidents', and Hyunjin would remain unburnt.

"I just got a text from Chan." Jisung said quietly. "Minho's connected the tracker, we gotta go catch that guy."

"Now?" Hyunjin whispered. "We're in the middle of class!"

"It's okay, I'll create a diversion."

Hyunjin had no time to question as a spark of electricity hit his hand, causing him to cry out in pain.

"Hey-"

"Hyunjin burnt himself!" Jisung yelled to the teacher.

She sighed. "Go to the infirmary then. Jisung, you take him."

Jisung made a show of rolling his eyes but winked at Hyunjin. Ah. So this was his 'diversion'. Whilst it was infuriating, Hyunjin had to give it to Jisung for imitating something that happened as a normal occurrence.

"Okay," He said when they'd left the school, "Where to?"

"Umm, there's an alley next to that fancy restaurant, apparently we'll meet outside it and then head in once everyone's there."

Hyunjin nodded, humming as they walked along. He still felt a little a awkward with Jisung; usually the silence was filled with arguing.

"I'm glad you didn't _actually_ burn me today." He said.

"Well," Jisung shrugged, looking at the floor, "Then we'd have to go to the infirmary which would've wasted time."

"Ah. Thanks anyway."

"Whatever."

Hyunjin laughed. "You're really weird, you know? Sometimes you're really loud and outgoing, and other times like... well, like this."

"What do you mean 'like this'?"

"It's like you're nervous or something, you get all-"

"Shh." Jisung cut him off.

"Why?"

"I thought I heard..." He glanced behind them. "Nevermind."

"Heard what?"

"Nothing. I'm just a little paranoid. Cause yknow, it's twice now that I've been attacked and basically nearly died."

"You didn't 'nearly die', that's so dramatic."

"Says the queen of drama queens." Jisung smirked.

"I'm not even gonna fight you on that."

The two of them reached the alley, seeing Chan, Changbin, and Minho already waiting outside.

"Okay." Jisung said. "What's the plan?"

"Plan?" Minho raised his eyebrows.

"Let's be realistic." Changbin said. "There is no plan when you're with Minho."

"They say the best plan is no plan." Chan added.

"No, they don't." Hyunjin said, and Chan grimaced.

"Here." Minho handed Hyunjin a pistol. "For your safety or whatever."

"For the last time, I _don't_ know how to use a gun."

"A fight is the best place to learn."

Changbin snorted. "Bullshit. Hyunjin'll end up shooting one of _us_."

"Well, if I die, play Beethoven at my funeral." Jisung said loudly.

"Let's just go." Chan muttered.

The five of them edged into the alleyway, alert and ready to attack. Hyunjin had no idea how to use the pistol that sat in his hands, so hoped that the others would be able to handle whoever they found.

A dumpster rattled, and they all froze.

"Okay..." Chan whispered, shadows swirling in his hands. "Be ready."

The dumpster rattled again, and they all held their breath. The lid burst open and out jumped-

"A cat...?" Changbin said.

"Hey, it could be a trick-" Hyunjin broke off when he saw Minho start approaching the cat. "What are you doing?"

"Shh!" Minho glared at him. "She's frightened. It's okay, don't be scared." He spoke to the cat in a soft voice that Hyunjin never would've associated with him.

"Minho, I don't think you should-" Jisung began but Minho had already picked up the cat, stroking it as it sat in his arms, and making cooing noises.

"It's okay." He replied, pointing to the collar. "The thief found the tracker and stuck it on Dori."

"Dori?" Jisung spluttered. "Hold on one fucking second, we came here for nothing?"

"How dare you." Minho spat. "It's okay, Dori, you're way more important than _him_."

"Minho?" Changbin snapped his fingers. "What if it's a trick and that guy's gonna spring on us out of nowhere?"

"He won't. He doesn't want to be found." Minho looked at the cat as he spoke.

"How do you know that?" Hyunjin asked.

"If he attacks whilst I'm here, I'll get my suit back. I made it, so I know its weak points and I know how to get it back."

"Then why do you need us?" Chan sighed.

"I'm not good at fighting. Besides, he attacked you guys, and I assume he had a reason. It's mutually beneficial."

"But how are we gonna find him without the tracker?" Jisung said, waving his hands about as if that emphasised his point.

"One step at a time, young grasshopper. First I've gotta get Dori back home so she can have some food."

"You can't pick up a random cat off the streets." The voice came from the edge of the alley. Hyunjin squinted to see none other than Kim Seungmin.

Despite being in the same class, he didn't know much about the guy, but people who messed with Seungmin didn't seem to ever go near him again. Some of them never even turned up to school.

"Oh _fuck_." Jisung swore, quite appropriately.

"And why can't I?" Minho stepped forward, his eyes burning.

"She's wearing a collar, so clearly has an owner. If you take her, I'll call the police."

"Oh, the _police_." Minho faked a tremble in his voice. "I'm so _scared_."

"Why's it your business anyways?" Changbin shot, looking confused but angry.

"Oh, well, I followed _those_ _two_," He pointed at Hyunjin and Jisung, "Here because they staged a clearly fake diversion to get away from class. You know, Han, I've always thought there was something up with you, and here it is. Whatever you guys are doing here besides kidnapping cats is clearly illegal."

"Listen, kid," Chan stepped in, "He's right. It's none of your business. So I suggest you get out of here."

Seungmin laughed, pulling his phone out of his pocket. "Okay, police it is, then."

"Can you stop being an _asshole_?" Hyunjin said. "Just let the eccentric dude have his cat."

"I don't care if you call the police." Minho shrugged. "You can tell she's an alley cat from the scars she's got, plus her tag is blank. You'll just be wasting your time."

Seungmin paused, frowning. "No, I think I'll still call them. You have a gun."

Hyunjin had momentarily forgotten, and dropped it on the floor, flinging his hands in the air. "No, that's not mine! That was just... we found it here."

"Glad to know you're not gonna shoot me, but nice try." Seungmin started typing the number, and hovered his finger over the call button.

Zap. Jisung shot a bolt of electricity at Seungmin, who dropped the phone, before falling to the ground.

"Jisung!" Chan yelled.

"I only meant to shock him a little bit!" Jisung protested.

"Now what are we supposed to do?" Hyunjin asked, nudging Seungmin with his foot, getting no response. "We can't just leave him here."

"If we take him back to the dorm he really _will_ think we're kidnappers." Changbin grumbled.

"We don't really have a choice." Chan replied. "He _is_ breathing, right?"

"Yeah." Hyunjin sighed. "Unfortunately."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes i was talking about seungmin and dori! both very important :)
> 
> i can’t believe that plot is happening but it is so yay? there’s more plot in the next chapter as well, which should be finished soon hopefully
> 
> also i know that felix and jeongin appeared in earlier chapters and then just disappeared but they’ll appear again! i’m slowly but surely bringing the gang together
> 
> hope you guys enjoyed!
> 
> twitter: @midnightmxnwalk


	11. you haven’t told me anything

Dori was proving to be quite annoying. She scratched anyone who wasn't Minho, and starting meowing loudly at random intervals. Also the cat fur was... everywhere.

Chan tried to busy himself with finding cool packs to put on Seungmin's bruised head, but eventually realised it wouldn't help to freeze the boy to death. Something about the situation seemed familiar, like when Hyunjin had been passed out on that very same bed.

It wasn't hard to find a pattern with the_cause_ of said boys ending up unconscious in his dorm. Of course, always an accident, but Chan wondered if Jisung would ever be able to stay away from trouble.

"Why is it that the only food you have is a half empty box of cheerios?" Minho said, holding said box.

"College kids." Jisung supplied.

Chan rolled his eyes. "I mean, you really can't have expected to find cat food here."

"What am I supposed to feed her with?" Minho whined. "I can't let her starve!"

"Maybe she likes cheerios?"

"Oh, but those are months out of date." Changbin said. "Probably a bad idea to give them to her."

"That's ridiculous." Minho said. "What do you guys even live off?"

"Takeaway chicken." Jisung said.

"No, we don't." Chan corrected. "Only _sometimes_."

"By 'sometimes' do you mean 'always'?"

Minho looked pensive. "D'you reckon Dori would eat fried chicken?"

"Listen, man, we have more important problems than that fucking cat." Changbin said, pointing at Dori, who scratched him. "Ow!"

"What on earth could be more important?" Minho demanded.

"Oh, I dunno, maybe finding that guy and getting your suit back?"

"Point taken. But Dori will keep scratching you because she's hangry."

"So, since we can't use the tracker, what's our next move from here?" Chan asked before any more arguing could continue.

"Hmm, maybe Jisung can learn to actually _control_ his powers." Minho said.

"Hey!" Jisung raised his voice. "If you're not careful then you'll end up electrocuted too!"

"Okay, but seriously, where do we go from here?" Chan intervened once more before it escalated.

"We go about it the old fashioned way." Minho grinned. "At some point Greg's bound to show up and attack you guys again."

"Greg?"

"I decided we needed something to call him. Thus, Greg."

"Okay, so I volunteer Jisung as bait for Greg." Changbin said.

"No one's 'bait'!" Chan interjected.

"Why not?"

"Because _Greg_," He really was using that stupid name, "Is dangerous. Those shadows nearly killed Jisung at the train station, and this guy can _control_ them. It was all I could do to push them away, let alone block or destroy them."

"So you're suggesting we all just go out hoping to be attacked?"

"Sounds fine to me." Minho said.

"Has it ever occurred to you that I'm trying to complete a university degree?"

"Several times, yes. But this is a whole lot more important than that."

"You really ought to rethink your definition of importance." Jisung muttered. "Although I do agree that there's nothing else we can do other than wait for Greg to find us."

"For the record, I hate this idea." Chan sighed, because he knew they'd end up doing it.

"All in favour?" Minho asked.

"Wait! Guys..." Hyunjin began. "Where did Seungmin go?" He gestured to the empty bed.

"What?"

"We would've heard the door open..." Chan said.

"I didn't leave." The voice came from nowhere. "But I don't doubt you were too busy talking to even notice."

This was... odd. Seungmin was nowhere to be seen and yet his voice was talking to them.

"Are you... invisible?" Jisung exclaimed.

"Not quite." Seungmin materialised in front of them, leaning against the wall.

"Well that sure looks like invisibility."

"Invisibility would not be nearly as useful." He waved his hand, and suddenly they stood in a field.

"The fuck?" Changbin said.

Another wave of Seungmin's hand and they stood in the dorm once more.

"Illusions." Chan breathed.

"Correct. Now, if you guys don't mind, I've got some questions."

"What if I _do_ mind?" Minho retorted.

"Do you even _know_ what you're doing?" Seungmin said frustratedly. "I overheard all your little schemes, which you made with no regard for other people's safety."

"It's none of your goddamn b-"

"Actually, it is. Your foolish actions are putting the world at risk, and that is _very much_ my business."

"Just who exactly do you think you are?"

"I'm the gatekeeper. I keep tabs on portals to other worlds."

"Other worlds?" Jisung said.

"Yes, other worlds. It was a job entrusted to me by my parents, something our family have been doing for centuries. To stop the world falling out of balance, to ensure that everyone stays in the world which they belong in.

"But Jisung, you and Hyunjin somehow managed to slip by me. When I realised it was too late. You had caused a rift in the balance of the universe, a tiny anomaly which will spread and cause our destruction. Truthfully, that was when I started following you. I didn't know what danger you might have brought back with you. Until, of course, you were attacked by the person you dubbed as 'Greg'."

"What is he?"

"Oh, he's human. Possibly even from our own world. What _isn't_ from our world is the shadows."

"That's why I can't control them." Chan said, and Seungmin nodded.

"Soon enough those shadows will start to... _disagree_ with our world. Things will start happening, things that are unexplainable. And eventually something similar to a black hole will appear."

"You realise to an average person you would sound crazy." Hyunjin said.

"But none of you are average. Not even you, Hyunjin, you stopped being average the moment you set foot in another world. You can pretend to not believe me, but I know that you all do."

"So, what?" Jisung said. "The world's going to end?"

"Not if we can send the shadows back to where they came from. I cannot do that alone, which is why I finally approached you."

"If this was your motive all along, why pretend that you cared about the cat and threaten to call the police?" Changbin asked.

"Oh, that? I was just, well, messing with you."

"Bastard." Minho muttered. "Who says I'll help you?"

"Not to be cliche, but the fate of the world rests in our hands. You don't really have a choice."

Minho sighed. "All I want is my suit back. That involves fighting Greg, so for that reason _only_, I'll help."

"I suppose we must, for moral reasons." Changbin said, and the others nodded.

"Great!" Seungmin said. "We'll need one more person to help. Six is an unlucky number."

"Since when?" Hyunjin asked.

"Since the beginning of time, why do think it's the devil's number?"

"And seven isn't unlucky?"

"Seven is one of the strongest numbers. I'll need you guys to find someone else to join."

Chan thought for a moment. "I might know a guy."

"Oh yeah?"

"I wanted to keep an eye on him anyway, cause of the..." Chan trailed off, thinking perhaps not to mention the dark energy. "Anyway, I reckon he'll help. His heart is made of literal sunshine, I swear."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guess who ;)
> 
> and though seungmin wants seven people, don’t worry, this is ot8 all the way 
> 
> my favourite character is dori, what about you guys?
> 
> comments and kudos are appreciated, feel free to hmu on twitter(@midnightmxnwalk)!


	12. sunshine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is a short but needed chapter for the guy in the title ;)

Felix's day hadn't been _awful_. He'd caught the bus on time, and for once Jeongin hadn't talked to him about _Dungeons and Dragons_ for the entirety of lunch. He counted both those things as a plus.

But... being harassed by a suspicious man with a _metal arm_ at the bus stop was not on that list.

"Is your name Peligs?" The man asked, squinting at a sheet of paper.

"No." Felix replied truthfully, because he really wasn't.

"But you have freckles. You're like the only person with freckles I've seen here."

"Sorry, but who are you?"

"What kind of handwriting _is this_?" The man ignored him, still looking at the paper. "Tel.. Tele... Teleportation. Ah, right, can you teleport?"

Oh. Okay. That wasn't good.

Felix swallowed, praying for the bus to arrive. This man was creeping him out, and _he knew_ about Felix's power. It seemed far to strange to be one of Jeongin's pranks.

The man continued. "Did you meet a guy named Chan?"

Felix was really getting worried now. Was this guy some kind of stalker?

"You're not replying." The man frowned. "Okay, uh, do you have a deep voice? Ah, I can answer that one! The answer is yes, which means you must be Peligs because you have a deep voice and freckles."

_Bus. Bus now._ Felix thought. _Please_.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the guy begin talking to someone on the phone. "Yeah, Chan, I think I found him! He seems kind of... scared? Wait, I _wasn't_ supposed to? Hey, I can't even read your handwriting, how was I supposed to know? Yeah, yeah, okay, it's the bus stop just outside the school."

It sounded like the man was talking to the same Chan that Felix had met, but that didn't make him trust him any more. Felix didn't know what was going on, but he really just wanted to go home.

Not that long after, Chan came running up to the bus stop, an expression of annoyance on his face.

"Hi, Felix." He said.

"Uh, hi." Felix replied quietly.

Chan turned to the scary man. "What on earth did you say to him?"

"I just asked him about what you wrote on here!" The man protested. "It's not my fault you can't spell _anything_."

"You do realise what an absolute creep you must look like, right? You can't just go up to people and ask questions like that!"

"Why? Why not? If he's scared off by a bunch of simple _questions_, then he'll be useless fighting Greg!"

Felix was so confused that he didn't even dare to ask what was going on. Instead, he fixed his eyes on the bus approaching in the distance. His ticket out of here.

Using their arguing as a distraction, he tried to slip away unnoticed and board the bus.

"Felix, where are you going?" Chan looked strangely panicked.

"I've gotta get home." Felix mumbled, stepping onto the bus. He made his way to a seat, and watched the doors close.

And then they were forced open by a metal hand.

"Two tickets please." The man said to the bus conductor.

_Fuck_. Felix was really not okay with this. Chan had seemed nice when they'd first met, but this was really on the verge of stalker behaviour.

"Felix, I'm really sorry about him." Chan said, pushing the man away to go sit somewhere else. "I just needed to talk to you, I promise it's important. I wouldn't have made all this effort if it wasn't."

"I don't get it." Felix said, and then a thought occurred to him. "You _told_ him about my power. You promised not to tell anyone."

Chan swallowed. "I'm sorry about that. I needed to find you. I realise now I could've gone about it better."

Felix resisted rolling his eyes. That sure was an understatement.

"Do you have time to talk? Not here, it needs to be somewhere more private."

What was so important that Chan went out of his way to find Felix? That he told someone else about his power?

Goddamn curiosity. It always won, didn't it?

"Fine." Felix said, still very guarded. "Buy me a coffee. It had better be fucking important."

Chan's face was serious. "It is."

"Okay. At the next stop there's a cafe nearby, we can go there. Is your, uh, friend coming along?"

"I fear he would harass more strangers if I let him out of my sight again."

Felix bit back a grin. "Fair."

They reached the next stop, and got off, heading for the cafe. On the way there, Felix learned the scary man's name was Minho, and Chan reassured him that yes, he was always that weird.

"So," He said as they sat at a table, "What is it you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Do you believe in other worlds?" Chan asked.

"I've never really thought about it." Felix responded.

"Well, they're real. Let's see... it all started about a week or so ago, when Jisung bunked off school..."

Felix listened to Chan's explanation of everything, feeling unsure about it all. Other worlds? Portals? Shadows? _Greg??_ It was crazy, completely crazy. But he believed it for some reason.

And they wanted him to help. They'd singled him out, because of his powers?

"But..." He began, staring at the table. "Why me?"

"Because you're nice. And you care. And you've got a badass power that'd be really useful. Also, according to Seungmin six is an unlucky number."

"Seungmin doesn't know shit." Minho commented. "He thought I only had one cat."

"Well, he wanted another guy on the team. I thought you'd be good at helping us, Felix." Chan said. "Of course, you don't have to. I just thought it was worth asking you."

_"I'm not a superhero."_

_"Uh, you can teleport. I'm fairly certain that means you are."_

Jeongin's voice rang in his mind. His insistence that Felix was a superhero, and should start fighting bad guys and saving the world. His envy of Felix's power, lamenting his own boring life.

Of course, he was still wrong. Felix was in no way at all a superhero.

But would it be so bad to finally use his powers for something good? Do his part in saving the world?

"Okay." He said. "I'm in."

"Good," Minho said, "Because Jisung just sent me some texts with no discernible words other than 'Greg' in all caps. Aka, it means we gotta go fight that stinky thief."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the gang. is. almost. together.
> 
> if u wanna see more crackheads fighting “greg”, kudos, comment, and bookmark for updates! i always appreciate the support :)
> 
> also i have a twitter: @midnightmxnwalk


	13. my shadow

Being accosted by Greg after school wasn't unexpected, but highly unappreciated.

Jisung was starting to feel personally targeted by the attacks. Why did Greg and these semi-sentient shadows hate him so much?

He tried to send some texts to Minho whilst dodging blasts of shadows heading his way. It was likely the texts would be indecipherable, but that alone should create worry.

"Greg, I'm starting to think this is personal." He said, sending an electric spark which missed. Naturally, there was no response from his attacker.

Really, what sort of villain doesn't explain their entire plan to the hero? _A clever one_, Jisung thought, and scowled. If he couldn't buy himself some time with conversation, then he'd be shadow food in seconds.

Bam. A tendril of shadow slammed into him, pinning him against the wall. He struggled, but it was like trying to break out of diamond chains.

Greg just stood there. Almost... considering something. The worth of Jisung's life, maybe?

Suddenly the shadows disappeared, and a short figure that could only be Changbin knocked Greg to the ground. Chan, Minho, and that teleporting guy called Felix walked into the scene.

"'Sup." Felix smiled. "Friendly neighbourhood Jisung."

A shadow headed for his head.

"Look out-" Jisung could barely warn him before Felix disappeared and rematerialised a few metres away.

"He's the new recruit!" Chan shouted as he caught a shadow, slamming it into the ground. "Seungmin and Hyunjin are on their way as well."

Minho tossed Jisung a simple face mask, that everyone else seemed to be wearing. "Wear that. We'll probably attract a crowd, so that'll protect your identity for now."

"Thanks." Jisung put it on and turned his attention to the fight.

Felix was definitely doing a good job of confusing Greg, popping up in front of him only to teleport away again. It gave Chan time to tackle the shadows that were flying out in all directions. Changbin swooped in every now and then, throwing punches for extra distraction to Greg.

Jisung ran to join them, his fists crackling with electricity.

The adrenaline spurred him on, as he dodged and swerved around the shadows. He zapped Greg again and again, hoping to weaken the forcefield in some way.

Then Greg disappeared again.

"You shit!" Minho yelled from where he stood. Greg had rematerialised behind him, and grabbed onto his metal arm.

Jisung watched, horrified, as Greg practically snapped it in half, and Minho fell to the ground, shaking.

And then Greg was gone.

"Minho!" Jisung and the others ran over to Minho's convulsing form.

He looked at Jisung, lips trying to form words. "The... nerves... disconnect the... nerves..."

"Ho-How do I do that?" Jisung stammered, his hands trembling.

"Press... red button... twice..."

Jisung found the red button on the upper forearm, and did as Minho said. Once, twice, with shaky hands.

Minho slumped to the ground, breathing heavily. "I'm okay now..." He panted. "I swear... gonna kill that bastard..." He started trying to stand up.

"Woah, easy there." Changbin said. "You need to rest."

"I'm fine!" Minho spat, standing on shaking legs. He picked up the other half of the arm which lay on the ground. "Someone call a cab back to the shop."

"Minho-"

"I'm not taking any _fucking_ chances! That arm was nearly indestructible and he snapped it like a twig. So for gods sake, let me go fucking reevaluate the durability of my products."

Chan sighed. "Fine." He then whispered to Jisung. "Distract him with the cats before he strains himself trying to make a goddamn diamond arm."

Jisung nodded, knowing that task was not hard at all. Minho cared about his cats more than, well, anything.

Seungmin and Hyunjin arrived just as the cab did as well, and after promising an explanation to them, they all piled into the back of the cab, ignoring the confused driver. Felix fell asleep halfway there, and could not seem to be woken up, which lead to Chan just carrying him out of the cab bridal style once they arrived.

Jisung grabbed a protesting cat (was it Soonie?) and threw it at Minho, who was successfully distracted from diamond arms for the time being.

"What the hell happened back there?" Seungmin demanded as they all sat down on the floor like a circle of school children.

"Greg was being a little bitch." Jisung said. "I mean, am I the only one who's noticed he's always coming after me specifically?"

"The only reason I can think of for that is that you went to the shadows' dimension. But so did Hyunjin, so why isn't he being targeted?"

"Maybe he bribed him with his inheritance money." Jisung shot Hyunjin a distrustful glare.

"Oh, fuck off. As if any of us have been able to hold a conversation with him." Hyunjin replied.

"That's true." Chan said. "He _never_ talks. Which rules out any possibility of reasoning with him."

"He's like the big dragon at the end of a d&d campaign..." Felix said sleepily. "Except, he's not a dragon."

"Not sure I'm following you there, Felix." Jisung said.

"But we're all like level 1, so we don't really have a chance against him."

"Wow, I'm loving the whole positive vibes this discussion has going on." Minho said sarcastically, stroking Soonie with his currently only functioning hand.

"So..." Seungmin raised his eyebrows at Felix. "You're the teleporting guy?"

"Yup." Felix grinned. "The one and only... teleport-man."

"I'm gonna pretend you didn't say that." Changbin said.

"Yeah, it has too many syllables to sound cool." Felix said sullenly.

"Guys, you are gonna be so fucking glad you wore those masks." Hyunjin showed a video on twitter on his phone. "Look at this."

_high school students fight mysterious Shadow Man??_

It was a video of the fight they'd just had, with quite awful quality. It was strange seeing it from a third person perspective, because _damn_ Jisung looked almost as short as Changbin.

"I'm offended." Minho huffed. "I'm not a high school student."

"Shadow man, huh?" Changbin laughed. "Gotta say, that's more creative than Greg."

"The masks definitely worked." Chan said. "Even with better video quality, we were moving too fast for them to get a proper look at our faces."

"I'll work on an upgraded version then, maybe full face masks that also work as protection?" Minho hummed. "Speaking of... you guys _really_ distracted me with Soonie? Come on, that's low."

"Your arm just got snapped in half!"

"Yeah, so I'd quite like to go put on a spare so that I don't look like an evil cyborg from a sci-fi film."

"You looked like one anyway." Jisung said.

"Thanks." Minho stood up and headed to the back room, despite Chan's protests. He re-emerged a minute or so later, a new arm in place.

"So." Seungmin brought everyone's attention back. "We need a way to properly fight Greg. We need to get those shadows out of his control, cause they're a real fucking pain."

Silence.

"Why is everyone looking at me?" Chan said exasperatedly.

"You're our own resident shadow man, duh." Jisung said.

"But I can't control _those_ shadows! Not nearly enough to get them out of his control."

"Then you need to have your big pokemon evolution moment asap, otherwise we're screwed."

"My _what_?"

"Pokemon evolution. Training montage. Level up. Get more powerful!"

Another, much more awkward silence.

"I think I get what Jisung's trying to say..." Seungmin said slowly. "Is it possible? To increase your power?"

"I... don't know." Chan replied. "I don't even know how I'd go about doing it."

"Get the biggest shadow you can hold and yeet it out a window?" Felix suggested.

"Defenestration!" Jisung yelled.

"What?"

"Means to throw someone/something out of a window."

"I'm not even surprised you know that." Changbin said.

"Uh, as much fun as 'defenestrating' a shadow would be, I'm not sure that's the right approach." Chan said.

"If no one else has any ideas, then we should all probably just sleep on it and regroup here tomorrow." Seungmin said, and got several nods of agreement. "Try to research powers in more depth, and maybe we'll find something of use."

Jisung decided that his research would be to watch as many superhero films as he could. They seemed to be the only reliable source, even if it was fictional.

As everyone dispersed and headed home, Jisung found himself going in the same direction as Hyunjin. He struggled to find something to say, but Hyunjin beat him to it.

"I'm glad you didn't get hurt back there."

Jisung felt his stomach lurch.

"No thanks to you," He scoffed, "You only showed up when the fight was over!"

"Hey, I'm no fighter like the rest of you. I would've been torn to shreds."

"Maybe you should let Minho teach you how to use a gun. Or throw hair curlers in a swimming pool and then dive into it."

Hyunjin grinned. "Is that really how you got your power?"

"In my defence, I was seven. Man, you should've seen the look on my mum's face! I straight up got electrocuted and then just walked out like it was nothing, cause I didn't even understand what had happened."

"I guess 'getting into trouble' has been your trademark for a while then."

"I guess..." Jisung replied quietly, wondering if that was really all Hyunjin thought of him. A troublemaker.

"See you tomorrow." Hyunjin waved goodbye as they parted ways. Jisung nodded, but didn't wave back.

They had been enemies, constantly fighting. And then they'd made a truce. And now? Were they friends?

Jisung couldn't tell. But there was something fishy about the nausea in his stomach whenever they spoke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> some banter and hyunsung for you all
> 
> if anyone’s missing a certain maknae, he will appear shortly, do not fear :)
> 
> also side note: my knowledge of prosthetics is solely based upon fmab so don’t expect it to make sense
> 
> hope you guys enjoyed this one, it’s one of my favourites. things are really gonna start moving soon, and i am so excited
> 
> as always: i love a kudos, love a comment, and anyone is welcome to reach me on twitter(@midnightmxnwalk)

**Author's Note:**

> This was the first chapter of a disaster waiting to happen. 
> 
> but um, yeah i haven’t been updating my other fic bc i’m working on about ten others that all remain in my drafts. do i think it’s a stupid idea? yes. am i gonna do it anyway? hell yes.
> 
> but i figured i may as well publish one rather than disappearing for several months. consider it an early christmas present.
> 
> Follow my twitter: @midnightmxnwalk


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